Top of the Tree Statement Win

Top of the Tree as Villa Routed in New Year Statement

We will end 2025 where we belong – top of the Premier League – after an outstanding second-half blitz saw us sweep aside third-placed Aston Villa and turn Emirates Stadium into an early New Year street party.

After a tense, cagey first half, the game flipped on its head within minutes of the restart. Gabriel, restored to the starting XI after injury, powered home to break the deadlock, before Martin Zubimendi doubled the lead with the composure of a man who's been doing this in north London for years. Leandro Trossard then slammed in a third, and the feel-good factor went into overdrive when Gabriel Jesus curled home his long-awaited goal to cap a near-perfect night.

Yes, Ollie Watkins grabbed a late consolation, but it barely registered. Villa's club-record 11-match winning run was emphatically ended, and a little score was settled after they'd halted our own 18-game unbeaten stretch just 24 days earlier.

First-Half Stalemate

If anyone expected fireworks from minute one, the opening 45 quickly corrected that. With nine changes across the two sides compared to the reverse fixture at Villa Park, this felt tighter, edgier – a chess match rather than a shoot-out.

Viktor Gyökeres twice went close with headers, both times narrowly missing the target after inviting service, while Villa looked dangerous on the break. Watkins scuffed wide from a great chance, then curled another effort well off after being slipped through again, with William Saliba doing just enough to delay him.

By the interval, goalless felt about right – but it also felt like something was building.

Gabi Lights the Fuse

Three minutes after the restart, the fuse was lit. Bukayo Saka swung in a corner, Emiliano Martínez hesitated, and Big Gabi didn't. A simple nod from point-blank range, and Emirates erupted.

Four minutes later, it was two. Martin Ødegaard won the ball, drove forward, and timed his pass perfectly. Zubimendi did the rest – cool, precise, and utterly ruthless. Villa, so used to dramatic away comebacks, suddenly looked stunned.

Floodgates Open

You could feel the third coming, and on 69 minutes it arrived. A half-cleared cross, a moment's hesitation from Lucas Digne, and Trossard pounced – drilling a first-time strike past a wrong-footed Martínez. VAR checked. VAR sighed. Goal stood.

Then came the moment everyone wanted. Ødegaard again the instigator, Zubimendi the conduit, Trossard the provider – and Gabriel Jesus the finisher, bending a beauty into the corner to mark the end of a long, frustrating injury lay-off.

Job done. Statement made.

Villa huffed late on, Raya pulled off heroics, and Watkins eventually poked one in, but it barely dented the mood. In our corner of Emirates Stadium, the celebrations were already rolling.

What's Next

The New Year starts on the south coast with a trip to Bournemouth, before a mouth-watering clash with Liverpool back at Emirates on Thursday, January 8. Three days later, it's FA Cup duty away at Portsmouth.

Top of the league. Momentum building. 2026, we're ready.