Arsenal thrash Aston Villa 4–1 to tighten grip on Premier League summit, as West Ham, Brighton draw

Premier League leaders Arsenal powered past Aston Villa 4–1 at the Emirates Stadium to strengthen their title charge and move five points clear at the top of the table.

The Gunners stormed into a commanding four-goal lead against their closest challengers, underlining their dominance in a statement victory that extended their winning run to four league matches.

In a match reported by Al Jazeera, Arsenal now sit five points ahead of Manchester City and six clear of third-placed Villa, who arrived in London on the back of an eight-match winning streak that was emphatically ended.

The result keeps Arsenal firmly on course for their first Premier League title in 22 years as they head into the new year in commanding form.

Aston Villa, whose nine-match unbeaten run came to a crushing halt, remain third and will look to quickly regroup as they seek to secure a Champions League place.

Meanwhile, West Ham United were denied a crucial relegation lifeline after being held to a dramatic 2–2 draw by Brighton at the London Stadium, extending their winless home run against the Seagulls to nine Premier League meetings.

The Hammers led twice and, with Nottingham Forest losing to Everton, had the chance to cut the gap to safety to just two points. However, Joël Veltman’s late equaliser left West Ham still deep in trouble.

Jarrod Bowen opened the scoring after 10 minutes, racing onto Lucas Paquetá’s ball over the top before finishing confidently past Bart Verbruggen.

According to ESPN, Brighton equalised on the half-hour through Danny Welbeck’s penalty after Max Kilman brought down Yankuba Minteh. Further penalty drama followed as Paquetá conceded another spot kick for hauling down Lewis Dunk, though Welbeck missed with an audacious Panenka that struck the crossbar.

West Ham restored their lead in stoppage time when Paquetá converted from the spot after Dunk was penalised for handball following a VAR review.

But Brighton had the final say as Veltman scrambled home a late equaliser, ensuring both sides ended December without a league win.

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