Arsenal put in a great performance in the second half to beat Aston Villa 4-1 and move five points clear of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
After an even first half, Arsenal overpowered Villa with two goals in the opening four minutes, with Gabriel converting Bukayo Saka’s corner kick into the goal following a miscatch by Emiliano Martinez, and Martin Zvimendi scoring a clinical goal from Martin Odegaard’s accurate through ball.
As the Gunners pushed their advantage home, Leandro Trossard scored a third with a superb first-time goal from the edge of the box, and Gabriel Jesus added a fourth with his first goal in a year less than a minute after coming off the bench.
Aston Villa scored a late goal from Ollie Watkins after David Raya sensationally denied John McGinn, but that was little consolation on a night when their 11-game winning streak suddenly came to an end, leaving them six points behind third-placed Arsenal.
Unai Emery has been a thorn in his side’s side in recent encounters, inspiring Villa’s 2-1 win at Villa Park just a few weeks ago, and his side should have taken the lead in the first half when Watkins went wide after a breakthrough from Ezri Konsa.
Arsenal struggled to gain momentum in the first period, with Victor Gokeres heading home on two half-chances, but things quickly picked up after the break.
Gabriel’s goal, making his first start since November 8 after returning from injury, broke the ice, but Villa could not cope with a side that had grown in intensity after their come-from-behind victory away at Chelsea just three days earlier.
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Mike Dean and Paul Merson react to Arsenal’s Mikel Merino avoiding second yellow for foul on Aston Villa’s Morgan Rodgers
However, Aston Villa had cause for frustration after Arsenal’s second goal, but were fortunate that Mikel Merino was not shown a second yellow card for a foul on Morgan Rodgers.
The only negative for Arsenal was the absence of Declan Rice through injury, but they have been unable to capitalize on their dominance in recent games, but their second-half performance was a welcome change of fortunes, further strengthening their title credentials and slowing Villa’s momentum.
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Paul Merson reacts to David Raya’s great save against Aston Villa
The resounding victory leaves them six points clear of Emery’s side and five points clear of City, who play Sunderland live on Sky Sports at the Stadium of Light on New Year’s Day.
Attention: All goals
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Gabriel returns from injury to score corner for Arsenal
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Martin Zvimendi’s ‘ruthless’ finish doubles Arsenal’s lead
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Leandro Trossard’s star goal gives Arsenal their third goal
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Gabriel Jesus comes off the bench to score Arsenal’s fourth goal against Aston Villa
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Ollie Watkins scores the winning goal for Aston Villa in the closing stages
Arteta: “The second half went well”
Mikel Arteta said: “I’m very happy. We play every three days and today we played against a side who have won 11 games in a row.
“They are a great team, very difficult to play against, and we knew there would be periods throughout the game.
“We talked about how tough the game was going to be emotionally, and we struggled for the first 10 minutes. Then we adjusted and got a little more control. We didn’t score, but we did well in the second half.”
“We competed much better in everything. The timing was better, individual goals were achieved in an exceptional way and we were very efficient in everything we did.”
“Unlike the last few games where we had a lot of big moments, today we were able to make the difference very prolifically and accurately.”
Manager Emery explains Arteta’s cold treatment of his handshake
There was no handshake between Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery after the final whistle as the Aston Villa manager quickly disappeared into the Emirates Stadium tunnel.
He explained: “It’s simple. Just watch. After the game, my routine is always quick, shake hands, go to the locker room with the coaches and players.”
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Unai Emery explained why he didn’t shake hands with Mikel Arteta at full time
“I was waiting, waiting. He was happy, of course he was happy. He was with the coach. And I decided to go in. But for me it doesn’t matter.”
Emery further justified his decision to Sky Sports, adding: “Usually my routine is to go to the opposition coach, shake his hand and go in. If he doesn’t follow the same rules, I can’t wait… It was cold.”
Kara: Jesus should do Gokeres again.
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said Gabriel Jesus’ goal-scoring cameo showed why he should start ahead of Victor Goqueres as Arsenal’s striker.
“I’m a big fan of Jesus, always have been. He’s not always a great finisher, but he’s a great footballer.
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Jamie Carragher believes Gabriel Jesus should start over with Victor Gökeres
“The only downside for Arsenal tonight is that with all these players, Gokeres shouldn’t start.
“After a few games, when Jesus gets a little more up to speed, he should start.
“He’s a better player than Gokeres – that’s true. There have been questions in the past about whether[Jesus]is good enough for Arsenal to win the league.
“But he’s better now than the player they brought in thinking he was going to win the league.”
Arsenal set-piece threat – Opta stats
Arsenal scored 17 goals from corner kicks in the 2025 Premier League. Only Manchester United in 2012 (18 goals) have scored more goals in a calendar year. Leandro Trossard has the most goals (10), assists (9) and goal involvements (19) for Arsenal in the 2025 Premier League. Arsenal will end the calendar year top of the Premier League for the seventh time, equaling Liverpool and Manchester United for the most. Gabriel Magalhaes scored his 19th Premier League goal for Arsenal, the most by a defender since making his debut in the competition in September 2020. Overall, Laurent Koscielny (22) is the only Gunners defender to have scored more Premier League goals than the Brazilian (19).
