Arsenal defeated Aston Villa 4-1 at the Emirates Stadium, ending the year with a five-point lead in the Premier League title battle.

The game was evenly poised at halftime, but Mikel Arteta’s side altered gears after the break, exposing Villa’s resistance and underscoring their rising authority as true frontrunners.

Three minutes after the restart, Gabriel Magalhaes, making his first appearance since returning from injury, fired in from close range after another well-worked Arsenal corner. Despite Villa’s complaints regarding a suspected infraction on Emiliano Martinez, the goal remained.

Arsenal swiftly took control. Martin Odegaard’s relentless midfield press resulted in the second goal, as he set up Martin Zubimendi, who simply tapped past Martinez to extend the lead and swing the game decisively in the hosts’ favour.

Leandro Trossard made it 3-0 with a precise low finish from the edge of the box, after a lengthy VAR check confirmed he was onside.

Substitute Gabriel Jesus then added gloss with a flying drive late on, before Ollie Watkins scored a stoppage-time consolation for Villa.

Unai Emery’s team, who arrived on an 11-game winning streak and had defeated Arsenal earlier in the month, showed early promise but lacked the cutting edge to worry a controlled and clinical home side.

The victory concludes an extraordinary year for Arsenal, who have only lost twice in the league and are now five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, despite having a game in hand.

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