Arsenal brought Aston Villa’s impressive 11 game winning run to an end on Tuesday night with a commanding 4 1 victory at the Emirates Stadium, a result that pushed the Gunners five points clear at the top of the Premier League table.
The league leaders turned on the style in the second half, scoring four times to hand Unai Emery’s side a sobering defeat and deal a major blow to Villa’s title ambitions. Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus were all on target as Arsenal ran riot after the break.
The breakthrough came early in the second half following a costly error by Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez.
Arsenal capitalised on a corner kick situation when Martinez failed to deal cleanly with the delivery, allowing Gabriel Magalhaes to bundle the ball into the net.
Arsenal quickly seized control of the contest and doubled their advantage moments later. A high press led by Martin Odegaard paid off as possession was won in a dangerous area, freeing Zubimendi to run through on goal and finish confidently from close range.
With Villa struggling to recover, the home side pressed their advantage. Trossard made it 3 0 in the 69th minute, firing home from the edge of the area after a well worked attacking move that stretched the Villa defence.
Gabriel Jesus added a fourth in the 78th minute, marking a feel good return to scoring action as he curled a precise effort past Martinez after receiving a pass from Trossard.
Villa managed a late consolation through Ollie Watkins in stoppage time, but it did little to change the narrative of the evening as Arsenal celebrated a dominant performance.
The win leaves Arsenal five points clear of second placed Manchester City as they close out the year strongly, while Villa drop six points behind the leaders after suffering their first league defeat since early November.
