Arsenal dismantled Aston Villa at the Emirates with a commanding 4-0 win to send a clear message in the title race while ending the Birmingham side's impressive 11-match winning streak.
Aston Villa traveled to the Emirates on the back of an impressive 11-game winning streak in all competitions and confident they could give Arsenal a hard time. The picture on the field, however, was completely different.
The Gunners put in one of their most convincing performances of the season and dismantled the Birmingham side 4-1 on Matchday 19 of the Premier League, putting an emphatic end to their winning streak.
Gabriel opened the scoring in the 48th minute, with Zubimenti doubling the goals just four minutes later (52th minute). The rest belonged entirely to Mikel Arteta's side, with Trossard in the 69th minute and Jesus in the 78th minute adding triumphant dimensions to victory in a result that looked like a clear championship statement.
All the visitors managed was to reduce the game to 4-1 in stoppage time with Watkins scoring the goal of honour.
For their part, Aston Villa had strong complaints from the referee of the match, with their players complaining about the phase of the first goal, claiming that it had been preceded by a foul by the home defender on Martines.
With this result, Arsenal extended their gap to Aston Villa to six points, while they are also +5 ahead of Manchester City, who have a game in two days' time against Sunderland (01/01, 22:00).
ARSENAL: Raya, Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie, Odegaard, Zoubimenti, Merino, Saka, Yokeres, Trossard
ASTON VILLA: Martinez, Digne, Konza, Lindelof, Bogarde, Tielemans, Onana, Sancho, Buendia, Rodgers, Watkins
