“Man City will have been watching” - Paul Merson delivers bold title verdict on Arsenal after statement win over Aston Villa

Pundit Paul Merson has predicted that Arsenal will run away with the Premier League title this season after their impressive win over Aston Villa. The Gunners put their rivals on notice as they crushed Unai Emery's title challenge in decisive fashion, winning 4-1 at the Emirates.

Merson spoke on Sky Sports' Soccer Special about the nature and significance of the win from the Gunners at home. He predicted that the Gunners should now manage to go all the way in the league this season following the win, having already played their toughest games in the division.

"It was an outstanding 30 minutes from Arsenal in the second half. 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. "With the lead having been two points a draw against Villa and a Man City win on New Year's Day, Pep Guardiola's side would go top. But now, they have a five-point lead, and they have three extra goals because goal difference will be important with it being so tight. 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", he said.

Mikel Arteta's side brought Aston Villa's impressive winning run to a grinding halt, winning 4-1 in front of their fans to exact revenge on the Villans. Emery's side has won 11 games on the bounce, including one against the Gunners earlier this month, before falling to the defeat on Tuesday evening.

The Gunners have opened up a five-point lead atop the Premier League table, albeit having played one game more than Manchester City. They sit six points clear of Emery's side, whose impressive run got them up to third place.

Arsenal defeat Aston Villa to open up gap atop Premier League

Arsenal made light work of title hopefuls Aston Villa in their league encounter, claiming a 4-1 win to go five points clear atop the Premier League. All of the game's goals came in the second half as the Gunners exacted revenge for their earlier defeat to Villa.

The Gunners took the lead in the 48th minute through Gabriel Magalhaes following a scoreless first half. They doubled their lead four minutes later as Martin Zubimendi finished off an exquisite pass from Martin Odegaard.

Leandro Trossard joined in the fun on 69 minutes as he found the net from range, before Gabriel Jesus came off the bench to score their fourth goal. Ollie Watkins scored a late consolation goal for Aston Villa, taking his tally to three goals in the last two games.

Edited by Sulayman Salahudeen