Arsenal vs Aston Villa Review
Aston Villa’s streak of 11 consecutive wins across all competitions ended after they were defeated 4-1 by Premier League leaders Arsenal. This victory allowed Arsenal to increase their lead at the top of the table to five points, with Manchester City set to play on New Year’s Day. Arsenal, strengthened by Gabriel’s return to the starting lineup, began the match on the offensive. Shortly after, Amadou Onana went down in Arsenal’s penalty area following a challenge from William Saliba, but referee Darren England only awarded a corner kick.
In-form Onana had to be substituted due to injury and replaced by captain John McGinn. Struggling to adjust, the visitors fell behind in the 48th minute when Bukayo Saka delivered a corner kick that led to Emiliano Martínez spilling the ball under pressure from Gabriel, who then forced it into the net. Despite Villa players protesting a foul, their appeals were ignored. With tensions rising, they conceded a second goal just five minutes later when Martin Ødegaard took the ball from Jadon Sancho and delivered a perfectly timed pass to Martín Zubimendi, who calmly scored.
In response, Unai Emery made two substitutions around the 60-minute mark, including bringing on Donyell Malen for Sancho, but Villa remained under pressure and conceded a third goal when Leandro Trossard struck powerfully from the edge of the box. Gabriel’s night ended on a disappointing note because of another injury, but Gabriel Jesus came on late in the game and made an immediate impact, beautifully curling the ball in after a great pass from Trossard. Saka had a chance to increase the lead in the final minutes, but it wasn’t crucial, as Arsenal couldn’t maintain a clean sheet for the third consecutive match due to Watkins scoring a consolation goal in stoppage time.
