Despite a bright start from Unai Emery's visitors, who arrived in north London on an 11-match winning run and without suspended pair Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara, it was Arsenal who ultimately overwhelmed their opponents with a devastating second-half display. Villa attempted to slow the tempo and frustrate the hosts, but their resistance collapsed after the break.

Centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, making his first start since returning from injury in November, opened the scoring in the 48th minute by bundling the ball home from a corner.

The goal stood despite strong appeals from Villa for a foul on goalkeeper Emi Martinez. Arsenal quickly doubled their advantage when captain Martin Odegaard won possession in midfield and slid a pass through to Martin Zubimendi, who finished confidently past Martinez.

Leandro Trossard made it 3-0 with a strike from the edge of the area, confirmed after a lengthy VAR offside check, before substitute Gabriel Jesus curled in a fine fourth goal from distance. Arsenal's four second-half goals underlined their dominance.

Villa, who had beaten Arsenal 2-1 in the reverse fixture just 24 days earlier, were left to rue an early missed chance by Ollie Watkins. The striker did, however, score a late consolation in stoppage time with a close-range finish.

Arsenal, who have lost only twice in the league this season, now sit five points ahead of second-placed Manchester City, who face Sunderland on New Year's Day.

"I'm very, very happy," Arteta said after the game. "I think it's one of those wins that you feel satisfied with because you know the difficulty of it, with all the preparation, all the issues that we had, the little time that you have from game to game and to play against a team that has 11 wins in a row.

"To be able to beat them in the manner that we did is not easy and the players deserve a lot of credit for that. The determination, the dominance and that willingness to go for more, the spirit of the team is incredible.

"When we had to navigate through difficult periods, and we did it really well, and then we took our opportunities today.

"I think we stepped up in the second half in terms of what we had to do, the quality that we delivered. There are some great moments that we have done there, so a big well done to the team."

Steve Barker in awe of current Stellenbosch squad