Arsenal received a late goal from Yossi Benayoun as the Gunners handed Aston Villa a home loss at Villa Park on Wednesday, 2-1.

Robin van Persie got Arsenal on the board in the 17th minute when he coolly converted a penalty kick that American goalkeeper Brad Guzan had no chance to block.

With the goal, the Dutch star equalled Thierry Henry's Arsenal record for goals in a calendar year.

But Aston Villa would even things up in the second half when Marc Albrighton scored following a defensive error by Thomas Vermaelen, and a hesitation from Per Mertesacker. The Gunners were without their regular full backs in the match, and it was very apparent during some stretches.

Still, the Gunners were still able to pull through. In the 87th minute, Benayoun knocked in a header off a corner-kick cross to give Arsenal the victory. The Gunners have been terrible at scoring off corner kicks, and perhaps it was fitting considering they had a season-high 15 corner kicks. Arsenal benefited from some poor marking by Gabby Agbonlahor.

To make matters worse for Aston Villa, Alan Hutton received a red card in the dying moments of the match.

Aston Villa took nine shots, with three on goal, while Arsenal took 11 shots, with five on goal. The Gunners had possession for 63 percent of the match.

It has to be a satisfying victory for Arsene Wenger, after losing a competitive match against Manchester City at Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

Here are the highlights from the Aston Villa - Arsenal match:

Aston Villa vs Arsenal ? All Goalsby The-Million-Dollar-Man