Arsenal crush Aston Villa 4-1 to go five points clear, while Manchester United and Chelsea drop points in the Premier League title race.
LONDON: Arsenal seized control of the Premier League title race with a commanding 4-1 victory over Aston Villa, ending the visitors’ 11-game winning streak.
The win at the Emirates Stadium opened a five-point gap at the top for Mikel Arteta’s side, who avenged their only defeat in the last 25 matches across all competitions.
“It is a beautiful evening,” said Arsenal boss Arteta. “The way we started the second half was amazing, we really turned things up and were efficient in everything that we did.”
After a tight first half, Arsenal cut loose with four second-half goals. Gabriel Magalhaes broke the deadlock by outmuscling goalkeeper Emi Martinez from a set-piece.
Martin Zubimendi quickly doubled the lead after being teed up by Martin Odegaard’s fine through ball. Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus then added two quality strikes from outside the box.
Ollie Watkins netted a late consolation for third-placed Villa, who now sit six points behind the leaders.
Manchester City can reduce Arsenal’s lead to two points when they travel to Sunderland.
Manchester United wasted a chance to boost their top-four hopes in a 1-1 draw with Wolverhampton Wanderers at Old Trafford. Joshua Zirkzee’s deflected effort gave United the lead, but Ladislav Krejci’s header earned Wolves their first point in 13 games.
“We were struggling the whole game. We had a lack of creativity,” said United manager Ruben Amorim. “The fluidity of the game was not there.”
Chelsea’s struggles continued as they were held to a 2-2 draw by Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge. Enzo Maresca’s decision to substitute Cole Palmer was met with boos from frustrated home fans.
David Brooks gave Bournemouth an early lead before Palmer equalised from the penalty spot. Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea ahead, but Justin Kluivert levelled for the Cherries.
The result leaves Chelsea fifth, having won just once in their last seven league games.
Elsewhere, Newcastle United secured a 3-1 away win at Burnley, while Everton beat Nottingham Forest 2-0. West Ham United drew 2-2 with Brighton at home.
