Arsenal vs Aston Villa; Premier League
Arsenal vs Aston Villa. Premier League.
Emirates Stadium.
Arsenal 4
- Gabriel (48th minute)
- M Zubimendi (52nd minute)
- L Trossard (69th minute)
- G Jesus (78th minute)
Aston Villa 1
- O Watkins (94th minute)
Arsenal 4-1 Aston Villa: Gabriel, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus on target as Gunners go five points clear
Report and free match highlights as Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium; Gabriel, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus were on target for Mikel Arteta's side; Ollie Watkins scored a consolation goal for Aston Villa
Wednesday 31 December 2025 00:10, UK
Arsenal produced a rampant second-half performance to thrash Aston Villa 4-1 and go five points clear of second-placed Manchester City at the top of the Premier League.
After an even first half, Arsenal stunned Villa with two goals in four minutes as Emiliano Martinez's missed catch allowed Gabriel to bundle home Bukayo Saka's corner before Martin Zubimendi finished clinically from Martin Odegaard's precise through-ball.
Leandro Trossard hit the third with a superb, first-time finish from the edge of the box as the Gunners rammed home their advantage, with Gabriel Jesus adding the fourth when he stroked home his first goal in a year less than a minute after coming off the bench.
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Aston Villa struck late through Ollie Watkins, after David Raya had sensationally thwarted John McGinn, but that goal was little consolation on a night when their 11-game winning run came to an abrupt end, leaving them six points behind Arsenal in third.
Unai Emery had been a thorn in the side of his former club in recent meetings, inspiring Villa's 2-1 win at Villa Park only weeks ago, and his side should have gone in front in the first half when Watkins scuffed wide after being put through by Ezri Konsa.
Arsenal struggled to build any momentum in the first period, with Viktor Gyokeres heading over from two half-chances, but there was instant improvement after the break.
Gabriel's goal, scored on his first start since November 8 following his return from injury, opened the floodgates and Villa could not cope with their increased intensity after the exertions of their comeback win away to Chelsea only three days previously.
Aston Villa did have cause for grievance after the second Arsenal goal, however, when Mikel Merino was fortunate not to be shown a second yellow card for a foul on Morgan Rogers.
The only negative for Arsenal was an injury which ruled Declan Rice out of the game but, having struggled to capitalise on their dominance in recent games, their second-half performance was a welcome change of fortunes which further enhances their title credentials, while simultaneously denting Villa's.
The emphatic victory takes them six points clear of Emery's side and opens up a five-point gap on City, who face Sunderland, live on Sky Sports, at the Stadium of Light on New Year's Day.
WATCH: All the goals
Arteta: We clicked in the second half
Mikel Arteta said: "I'm so happy. We play every three days, and today we played an opponent that has won 11 games in a row.
"They are a superb team, very difficult to play against, and we knew that we were going to have periods throughout the game.
"We talked about emotionally how demanding it was going to be and we struggled in the first 10 minutes. Then we adjusted, got a bit more control. We didn't manage to score and then in the second half we clicked.
"We competed for everything much better. The timing was better and the individual goals were fulfilled in an extraordinary way, and we were so efficient in everything that we did.
"Unlike in the last few games where we had so many big situations, today we were very prolific and accurate to make the difference."
Emery explains Arteta handshake snub
There was no handshake between Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery after the final whistle as the Aston Villa boss quickly disappeared down the tunnel at the Emirates Stadium.
He explained "It is simple. You can watch. After I finish the match, my routine is always quick, I shake hands, and I go with my coaches, with my players to the dressing room.
"I was waiting, I was waiting. He was happy, of course he was happy. He was with his coaches. And I decided to go inside. But for me it is no problem."
Further vindicating his decision to Sky Sports, Emery added: "Always my routine is go to the opposition coach, shake hands and go inside. If he is not doing the same rule, I can't wait… it was cold."
Carra: Jesus should start over Gyokeres
Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher said Gabriel Jesus's goalscoring cameo showed why he should start ahead of Viktor Gyokeres as Arsenal's striker.
"I am a huge fan of Jesus. Always have been. He's not always an amazing finisher, but he's a fantastic footballer.
"The one negative out of tonight for Arsenal, is that Gyokeres should not be starting, when they have players like this.
"In a couple of games time, when Jesus is a bit more up to speed, he should be starting.
"He's a better player than Gyokeres - that's a fact. There's been questions in the past asking if [Jesus] is good enough for Arsenal to go and win the league.
"But right now he's better than the guy they brought in who they thought was going to win them the league."
Arsenal's set-piece threat - Opta stats
- Arsenal have scored 17 goals from corners in 2025 in the Premier League; only Manchester United in 2012 (18) have ever netted more in a calendar year.
- Leandro Trossard has the most goals (10), assists (nine) and goal involvements (19) for Arsenal in the Premier League in 2025.
- Arsenal will end the calendar year at the top of the Premier League for the seventh time, the joint-most of any side, along with Liverpool and Manchester United.
- Gabriel Magalhaes scored his 19th Premier League goal for Arsenal, with this the most by any defender since his debut in the competition in September 2020. Overall, Laurent Koscielny (22) is the only defender with more Premier League goals for the Gunners than the Brazilian (19).
