Having seen Liverpool move seven points clear at the Premier League summit earlier in the day, Arsenal knew a positive response was needed against an in-form Villa side.
The Gunners threatened an early breakthrough when Gabriel Martinelli saw a close-range effort thwarted by Emiliano Martinez, while at the other end, Ian Maatsen’s powerful drive was repelled by David Raya.
The end-to-end nature of the contest continued as the first half progressed, and after Ollie Watkins spurned a good chance for the visitors, Arsenal broke the deadlock in the 35th minute.
Leandro Trossard was the architect, swinging a superb cross into the path of Martinelli, who got ahead of Maatsen and bundled the ball home beyond Martinez for his seventh goal of the season.
Mikel Arteta’s men carried their momentum into the early stages of the second half and they soon doubled their lead, with Kai Havertz converting from another inch-perfect Trossard delivery.
Undeterred, the visitors halved the deficit within five minutes when Youri Tielemans timed his run to perfection to bury Lucas Digne’s cross into the bottom corner, while the Belgian struck the post just a minute later as the visitors threatened a remarkable turnaround.
Not to be denied, Villa levelled the scores with 22 minutes remaining, as Watkins found himself unmarked at the back post to volley into the roof of the net from Matty Cash’s delivery.
That set up a fascinating finale as both sides went in pursuit of a late winner, and Arsenal thought they’d found one in the 88th minute, only for Mikel Merino’s strike to be ruled out for a Havertz handball.
The hosts continued to threaten, as Merino thundered an effort against the post in stoppage time, but Emery’s side held firm under pressure to claim a hard-earned share of the spoils.