Arsenal brought the house down at the end of 2025 with a rampant 4-1 victory against Aston Villa.The absence of a key midfield motor meant uncertainty about how the hosts would handle the most in-form team in the Premier League, and the first 20 minutes of the match was a very ropey affair.
But the league leaders settled the contest before half time and reemerged from the break with the intent to kill. Goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard, and Gabriel Jesus gave the hosts a healthy triumph to take into the new year with a five-point lead at the summit.
Story of the Match
Unai Emery had to deal with two enforced absences from his matchday squad. Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara were missing after receiving five yellow cards in the Premier League this campaign. Lamare Bogarde filled in the role of right back so that Ezri Konsa could preserve his partnership with Victor Lindelof at the back while Amadou Onana returned to the starting eleven.
Meanwhile, Mikel Arteta was without midfield enforcer Declan Rice. Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi, and Martin Odegaard remained as the trio in the middle of the park after their 2-1 weekend win over Brighton, while Jurrien Timber took back his place on the right of the back four.
The first chance of the game at the Emirates Stadium again fell for Viktor Gyokeres, who connected with a cross from left back Piero Hincapie without managing to hit the target.
However, the Villans quickly started to create problems for their opponents. The ground-eating power of Onana could not be matched in the absence of Rice, and he wreaked havoc with his rangy ball carries. A surging run through the centre of the park pulled out William Saliba into a duel, but the referee decided against awarding a penalty when the pair collided in the Arsenal penalty area.
Then a massive opportunity went the way of birthday boy Ollie Watkins. Konsa unsettled Gyokeres as he dropped to link off the front, strode forward with the ball and punched a pass towards the striker.
Watkins, who had scored on his last two trips to the ground, hoped to inflict more pain upon the club he supported as a child, but his radar was wayward with a strike spiralling yards wide of the mark.
The confidence of the guests was growing. Watkins attempted to catch the goalkeeper off his goal line with a strike from close to the halfway line before Emi Martinez released Sancho with an excellent downfield punt to turn the red and white shirts. It looked like Arsenal were in for another long night.
Indeed, their 126 completed passes by the 30th minute mark represented the lowest tally at that stage of a home fixture in the Premier League this season. From this point onwards, opportunities started to go their way. The left sided trio of Hincapie, Merino, and Trossard pointed the way forwards, attracting more of the ball possession than the typically favoured flank with Saka and Odegaard.
Gyokeres peeled towards the near post and then headed a Leandro Trossard cross wide of the target while both forwards saw strikes smothered by a compact sea of black shirt bodies in the danger zone.
It was still fair to say that the game was in the balance at half time. Still burned by the last gasp 2-1 defeat at Villa Park earlier this month, would Arteta’s men be able to avenge that loss after the break?
They replied emphatically. A cross from Timber at the start of the second half was blocked, and Arsenal prepared to pepper the penalty area with another set-piece. Martinez made a mess of the aerial battle, and big Brazilian Gabriel provided his angelic touch to take the lead for the Gunners.
His teammates smelt blood and turned the screw. Just like on the weekend, they pounced on a high turnover from their opposition’s buildup as Sancho was second best in a duel down the middle of the pitch. Odegaard picked up the ball, changed his angle of approach, and neatly snookered a through ball that pierced the heart of Villa’s backline. Zubimendi was its recipient, and he coolly converted.
At the hour mark, Emery elected to rotate two players. He put on Andres Garcia as a right back and Bogarde joined Tielemans in midfield. Sancho swapped out for Malen to play as a second forward.
Merino was fortunate to avoid a second caution for a blatant tug on Rogers, but the ball was rolling rapidly downhill in favour of the hosts. Odegaard was in his element, threatening the goal of Martinez on several occasions, and mistakes continued to creep into the performance of Emery’s players.
Another corner created mayhem as Timber poked the ball over from close range when it pinballed at the near post. The third goal would arrive soon enough though: Saka hassled Digne for the ball, and it fell for Trossard, who crisply stroked a low shot beyond Martinez to wrap up the three points.
The scoring spree was not over. Gabriel Jesus joined the party not long after he came on for Gyokeres. Garcia was caught out in a duel down the wing, and Zubimendi carried the charge. He fed the advancing Trossard, who shifted the ball inside to his Brazilian teammate. Jesus composed himself before bending a brilliant effort into the bottom corner. The Gunners were four goals to the good.
Villa kept probing for a consolation effort to spoil the clean sheet. They should have got one on the cusp of injury time when Watkins flicked a delivery from Lucas Digne onto the post. David Raya was left sprawling as McGinn closed in on the rebound, but he was in position to smother a shot.
Eventually, it would be the persistence of Malen that made the difference for the visitors. The Dutchman dug his way through multiple red and white shirts, forcing the ball onto the post. It squirmed towards Watkins, who made no mistake. Yet, it was too little too late for Emery’s men.