Paul Merson puts his neck on the line with bold Arsenal title claim after Aston Villa win

Paul Merson was full of praise for Arsenal following the side’s ‘statement’ 4-1 victory over Aston Villa, backing Mikel Arteta’s men to go on and win the title ‘quite easily’.

Top-of-the-table Arsenal sprung to life after a goalless first half at the Emirates, taking the lead through Gabriel Magalhaes on the Brazilian’s first start in the Premier League since returning from injury.

Martin Zubimendi calmly poked the ball past Emiliano Martinez to double Arsenal’s advantage within seven minutes of the restart, before Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus also netted to well and truly put the game to bed.

Ollie Watkins’ stoppage-time effort proved to be nothing more than a consolation goal for the visitors, whose 11-match winning streak came crashing to a halt with the defeat.

The result saw the Gunners move five points clear at the summit, with second-placed Manchester City travelling to Sunderland on New Year’s Day.

‘It was an outstanding 30 minutes from Arsenal in the second half,’ former Arsenal, Villa and England midfielder Merson said on Sky Sports.

‘They suffocated Aston Villa and made them look pretty average in the end.

‘It’s a massive result for Arsenal.

‘There have been a couple of results where they have just fallen over the line against Wolves and Brighton.

‘They were tight games but up against the most in-form team in country, if not Europe, and Arsenal have dismantled them.’

Looking ahead to Arsenal’s all-important run-in, Merson said he was struggling to see a way the club could be stopped in their quest for the title.

‘They have a five-point lead, and they have three extra goals because goal difference will be important with it being so tight,’ he added.

‘Looking at Arsenal, with the away fixtures they have already played and this result against Villa, I don’t know who will stop them.

‘They play all the big teams apart from Man City at home and playing like that, it’s hard to see them being stopped.

‘I think they win the Premier League quite easily.

‘It was a statement result and Man City will have been watching. They will be thinking “wow” after that from Arsenal.’

Over the course of Arsenal’s dominant start in the Premier League, Arteta has been reluctant to talk up the club’s chances of ending their two-decade-long wait for the trophy.

After beating Villa, though, the Spaniard admitted his side were ‘on the right track’ after a ‘great’ year.

‘Well, it has been a great 2025 on a personal and professional level,’ the Arsenal head coach told reporters.

‘The way these guys, the club and the staff make me enjoy my work every single day is brilliant.

‘In 2026, we know what we want. We will have to work really hard for it every single day, but I think we are on the right track

Arteta praised the way in which his players managed to steer the momentum in their favour after a ‘shaky’ opening period.

‘It is a beautiful evening,’ he added.

‘The first ten minutes were a bit shaky and we had to adjust things. After that, we grabbed the game and we were creating the chances.

‘The way we started the second half was amazing. We really turned things up and were efficient in everything that we did.’

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