Barclays U21 Premier League 2015: Monday Results, Updated Table and Fixtures

Aston Villa snatched a dramatic win against Arsenal in Monday's Under-21 Premier League action, beating the Gunners 2-1 with a strike in the final minutes of the game.

The victory sends the Villans above the north London giants in Group 2 of the competition, but both sit comfortably in the desired top-five promotion play-off positions. 

Two Group 1 matches took place on Monday night, but goals were hard to come by as Norwich City drew 0-0 with bottom side Liverpool, and Chelsea beat Middlesbrough by a solitary goal, prevailing 1-0.

Here's a look at Monday's results, as well as the upcoming schedule:

Date	Home	Score	Away
Monday, Dec. 21	Arsenal U21	1-2	Aston Villa U21
Monday, Dec. 21	Norwich U21	0-0	Liverpool U21
Monday, Dec. 21	Chelsea U21	1-0	Middlesbrough U21
Tuesday, Dec. 22	Brighton U21	vs.	Fulham U21
Tuesday, Dec. 22	Manchester United U21	vs.	Manchester City U21

Group 1	Team	PL	W	D	L	GD	PTS
Group 2	Team	PL	W	D	L	GD	PTS
1.	Sunderland U21	12	9	1	2	25:8	28
2.	Tottenham U21	11	5	3	3	25:21	18
3.	Reading U21	11	5	3	3	22:19	18
4.	Manchester City U21	8	4	2	2	17:13	14
5.	Everton U21	11	3	5	3	17:17	14
6.	Southampton U21	10	4	2	4	19:21	14
7.	Manchester United U21	6	4	1	1	14:7	13
8.	Middlesbrough U21	9	3	2	4	16:13	11
9.	Chelsea U21	9	3	2	4	14:16	11
10.	Norwich U21	12	3	2	7	17:23	11
11.	Leicester U21	11	2	2	7	15:34	8
12.	Liverpool U21	10	1	3	6	10:19	6
1.	Derby U21	12	7	1	4	25:16	22
2.	West Brom U21	11	6	4	1	14:6	22
3.	Aston Villa U21	13	6	3	4	15:18	21
4.	Arsenal U21	9	6	1	2	18:10	19
5.	Stoke City U21	13	6	1	6	14:12	19
6.	Blackburn U21	10	5	2	3	16:14	17
7.	West Ham U21	13	5	2	6	21:24	17
8.	Swansea U21	11	5	1	5	18:12	16
9.	Fulham U21	10	5	1	4	11:12	16
10.	Newcastle Utd U21	12	3	4	5	17:21	13
11.	Wolves U21	13	2	2	9	13:22	8
12.	Brighton U21	11	1	2	8	5:20	5

Monday Recap 

Arsenal's hopes of climbing to the summit of the Group 2 table were dashed on Monday as Aston Villa took all three points on their visit to the capital.

The Gunners collected only their second loss of the campaign against the Midlands outfit in an entertainment packed affair at Meadow Park.

Jerell Sellars' strike opened the scoring for Villa in the first half after an effort from Rushian Hepburn-Murphy was saved, giving the centre-forward a chance to convert a rebound. 

Donyell Malen calmly slotted home a penalty with nine minutes remaining as it appeared the Gunners would earn a deserved point. 

Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Stephy Mavididi had drawn a foul in the box as the hosts pushed forward, leaving Malen the duty of claiming an equaliser. 

However, the Gunners were left heartbroken as the impressive Hepburn-Murphy grabbed a surprise winner just five minutes later.

Hepburn-Murphy was a constant thorn in the side of Arsenal and linked impressively with the influential Jack Grealish, who also nearly scored in the final moments. 

Sellars was satisfied with his efforts on Monday afternoon:

In Monday's other games, Chelsea snatched the three points against Middlesbrough at Cobham, as an early strike settled the match.

A goal from 19-year-old Kasey Palmer after just two minutes of the tie was enough for the Blues, who desperately needed the win to fire their domestic campaign. 

Liverpool had a chance to climb off the bottom of the Group 1 table against Norwich, but couldn't find the goal they needed in a 0-0 draw.

The result leaves the Reds two points adrift of Leicester City, and they look primed for the drop into the lower league.

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Villa took a major step towards promotion to Group 1 and are now only a solitary point behind leaders Derby County.

Arsenal will be bitterly disappointed with the result, but they displayed enough skill and endeavour to suggest they can still win the division. 

The young Gunners had a multitude of chances against Villa, but the visitors were more clinical in front of goal, with the class of Grealish a telling factor at Meadow Park.