Arsenal strengthen Premier League grip, Villa surge into second as Wolves finally win

Jan 3 : Arsenal ‌beat Bournemouth 3-2 on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League, with Aston Villa moving into second place and Wolverhampton Wanderers finally getting their first league win of the season at the 20th attempt.

Mikel Arteta's side went a goal behind before Gabriel Magalhaes equalised and midfielder Declan Rice added two second-half strikes. However, Eli Kroupi's 76th-minute goal for Bournemouth to make it 3-2 had the Arsenal coach's nerves jangling all the way to the final whistle. 

Despite the home side pouring forward in search of an equaliser, Arsenal managed to hang on for a win that moves them onto 48 points from 20 games.

Villa, who lost 4-1 to Arsenal in their previous game, are six ‌points behind in second place after a 3-1 home win over Nottingham Forest in the day's early ‌kick-off.

"The win against Villa would have meant nothing if we came here today and didn't pick up anything," Arsenal goal-scorer Rice said. "If you can win your games in and around Christmas, on top of what we've done already, it's going to put us in a really good position."

Manchester City, who lost ground after being held to a scoreless draw by Sunderland in their last outing, are third on 41 points ahead of their Sunday clash with a Chelsea side still reeling from the departure of coach Enzo Maresca on New Year's Day.  

The most joyous scenes of the day were to be found at Molineux, where Wolves, who collected ‍a mere three points from their first 19 games of the league season, doubled that tally with a resounding 3-0 thrashing of fellow strugglers West Ham United on Saturday, with all three goals coming in the first half. 

The home crowd celebrated wildly as their side finally ended a winless streak of 23