Arsenal thrash Aston Villa 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium

Arsenal scored four goals in the second half to seal a dominant 4-1 win over Aston Villa in their English Premier League (EPL) encounter at the Emirates stadium on Tuesday.

The Gunners put in arguably their best performance in recent times to silence visiting Villa in a match labelled a potential title decider, with goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus tearing Unai Emery’s juggernauts apart.

The opener arrived three minutes into the second half when Emiliano Martinez, Aston Villa goalkeeper, failed to gather a corner kick delivery.

The dropped ball hit Gabriel before ending at the back of the net for 1-0.

Zubimendi doubled the lead four minutes later with a well-placed finish from Martin Odegaard’s through pass.

Trossard made it 3-0 with a drilled shot from the edge of the penalty area, before Jesus, who recently returned from injury, completed the rout with a well-placed curling effort from Trossard’s cutback.

Injury-ravaged Jesus’ goal is only his second in 2025, adding to his goal on New Year’s Day in January.

Ollie Watkins would score Villa’s consolation goal, as Unai Emery’s side ends 2025 with a first defeat in 12 matches.

Defeat also ended an eight-match winning run in the EPL for Aston Villa, who are six points off the EPL race in third position. Arsenal however tightened their grip on top spot, increasing their lead to five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.

In other matches, Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth, and all four goals were scored in the first half, while Manchester united also failed to defeat basement club, Wolverhampton Wanderers who halted an 11-match losing streak with a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.

RESULTS

Arsenal 4-0 Aston Villa

Burnley 1-3 Newcastle United

Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth

Nottingham Forest 0-2 Everton

West Ham United 2-2 Brighton & Hove Albion

Manchester United 1-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers