Leader Arsenal struck very hard in the match at the top of the Premier League against Aston Villa (4-1), the third that it missed by scoring four goals in the second half on Tuesday in London.
After this prestigious success, the Gunners are guaranteed to end the first half of the season in the lead with 45 points, regardless of the result of their runner-up Manchester City (2nd, 40 pts) on Thursday in Sunderland. Mikel Arteta’s team distances itself from Aston Villa (3rd, 39 pts) at the same time as a revenge on Unai Emery’s team who beat them 2-1 on December 6 in Birmingham.
Arsenal inflict a brutal blow on the Villans who, before their trip to the Emirates, had recorded eight successive victories in the league, and even eleven in all competitions. The Gunners were manhandled in the first half in the absence of their all-round midfielder Declan Rice, who suffered a knee injury in the previous match. But they made the talk after half-time by Gabriel (48th), Martin Zubimendi (52nd), Leandro Trossard (69th) and Gabriel Jesus (78th), the center forward who had just entered in place of Viktor Gyökeres. The rather insipid performance of the Swedish striker was relegated to the background by the collective triumph of Arsenal, more than ever in the race for a title which has eluded them since 2004. Aston Villa reduced the gap through Ollie Watkins in added time (90th + 4) while the outcome of the meeting had already been known for a long time.
