Arsenal thrash Villa 4-1 while Chelsea and Man Utd both held

LONDON, Dec 30 : Arsenal closed ‌out 2025 in emphatic fashion, smashing third-placed Aston Villa 4-1 on Tuesday to surge five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Manchester United were held to a 1-1 draw by bottom side Wolverhampton Wanderers, who collected their third point of the season, while Bournemouth grabbed a point at stuttering Chelsea, forcing a 2-2 draw after a frantic first-half display. 

Man United are sixth, level on 30 points with fifth-placed Chelsea.

At the Emirates Stadium, Arsenal slammed the door shut on charging Villa, ending their club-record winning run of 11 games.

Goals by Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi early in the second half gave Arsenal control of a game that had looked fraught with danger.

Gabriel bundled in the opener from a ‌corner in the 48th minute before 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.

"I think it was amazing," Jesus told Sky Sports. "It's always hard to play against them... The mentality of the team is really, really growing and each game is growing even more and I think we are winning today because of the mentality."

Arsenal top the standings with 45 points, while second-placed Manchester City can close the gap when they play at Sunderland on Thursday.

Villa are six points adrift of Arsenal.

It took six ‍minutes at Stamford Bridge for Bournemouth to shock Chelsea when David Brooks grabbed the opener. Cole Palmer equalised from the spot in the 15th minute and Fernandez put Chelsea ahead with a bullet shot eight minutes