Arsenal produced a devastating second-half display to dismantle Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday night, extending their lead at the top of the Premier League table to five points.
The Gunners blew Unai Emery’s side away with two goals in the space of four minutes shortly after the break, effectively deciding the contest.
The breakthrough came when Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez failed to deal with Bukayo Saka’s corner, allowing Gabriel Magalhães to bundle the ball into the net.
Moments later, Martin Zubimendi doubled the advantage, calmly finishing after being played through by a precise Martin Ødegaard pass.
Arsenal continued to press their dominance, with Leandro Trossard making it 3-0 courtesy of a superb first-time strike from the edge of the box. Substitute Gabriel Jesus then added the fourth less than a minute after coming on, stroking home his first goal in a year to cap an emphatic performance.
Villa managed a late consolation through Ollie Watkins, shortly after David Raya produced an outstanding save to deny John McGinn, but the goal did little to alter the outcome.
The defeat brought Aston Villa’s impressive 11-game winning streak to an end and left them six points adrift of Arsenal in third place, while Mikel Arteta’s side tightened their grip on the Premier League title race.
