Arsenal crush Aston Villa, Manchester United held by Wolves, stuttering Chelsea draw
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Leandro Trossard (centre) celebrates scoring Arsenal's third goal.
PHOTO: EPA
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- Arsenal beat Aston Villa 4-1, with goals from Gabriel, Zubimendi, Trossard, and Jesus, extending their lead to five points.
- Man United drew 1-1 with bottom-placed Wolves; Zirkzee scored for United, while Krejci equalised. A late United goal was disallowed.
- Chelsea drew 2-2 with Bournemouth after a frantic first half featuring goals from Brooks, Palmer, Fernandez and Kluivert.
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LONDON - Premier League leaders Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Aston Villa with a 4-1 home thrashing of Unai Emery’s side on Dec 30 that kept them clear at the top of the table going into the New Year.
Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that looked fraught with danger against a Villa side on an 11-match winning streak.
Defender Gabriel bundled in the opener from a corner in the 48th minute before Arsenal captain Martin Odegaard slid a pass through for Zubimendi to score four minutes later.
Arsenal secured the points when Leandro Trossard fired home from the edge of the area before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to add the fourth.
Ollie Watkins grabbed a consolation goal for Villa in stoppage time.
Arsenals’ Gabriel Jesus celebrates scoring their fourth goal with Leandro Trossard and Martin Zubimendi.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Arsenal moved five points clear of second-placed Manchester City, who can close the gap when they go to Sunderland on Jan 1.
Villa, who will rue not getting ahead in an impressive first half, stayed in third place, six points adrift of Arsenal after their first defeat for nearly two months.
Frustration for Man United
Manchester United suffered a frustrating end to 2025 as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Wolverhampton Wanderers, with the Premier League’s bottom side collecting their third point of the season.
Dutch forward Joshua Zirkzee made the most of a rare start by giving United the lead with a deflected shot from the edge of the box in the 27th minute, but Wolves managed to level just before the break thanks to a header from Ladislav Krejci.
Manchester United goalkeeper Senne Lammens (right) and players Casemiro, Ayden Heaven and Benjamin Sesko look back to see the ball nestle in the bottom corner of the net from a Ladislav Krejci header.
PHOTO: AFP
In the second half, Wolves goalkeeper Jose Sa had to scramble to prevent a header from teammate Yerson Mosquera from going into the net, while his United counterpart Senne Lammens pulled off a superb double save of his own to deny Krejci and Mosquera in quick succession.
Patrick Dorgu thought he had snatched a 90th-minute winner for United but the goal was chalked off for offside following a VAR review, leaving United sixth in the standings with 30 points. Wolves are bottom with three points from 19 games.
Stuttering Chelsea
Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display.
It took six minutes for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks knocked in a shot that had ricocheted off home goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Bournemouth midfielder David Brooks (centre) pokes the ball past Chelsea’s diving goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to score their first goal.
PHOTO: AFP
Cole Palmer equalised from the spot in the 15th minute after a delayed VAR check for a foul in the box on Estevao and Enzo Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a sidestep and bullet shot eight minutes later.
Justin Kluivert brought Bournemouth back level in the 27th, to grab a point, despite Chelsea exerting more control after the break, adding to the London side’s unenviable record of one win in seven league games. REUTERS
