Arsenal annihilated Aston Villa 5-0 at the Emirates. Even without their best player in Alexis Sanchez, the Gunners had no issues defeating their struggling opponents.

The first real chance at goal occurred in the fourth minute when box-to-box midfielder Aaron Ramsey made a nice run into the 18-yard-box but his shot went wide. Unlike most Arsenal attacks that include multiple passing exhibitions and triangles to catch their opponent slipping, the North London club depended mostly on counterattacks to create goalscoring opportunities. Arsenal only had the ball 48% of the time and Aston Villa completed 41 more passes.

The first goal came in the eighth minute when central defender Per Mertesacker passed to midfielder Mesut Ozil who delivered a sublime flick-on to striker Olivier Giroud and he put the ball in the net. The away side had a couple of chances later in the first half to equalize but poor finishing, solid defending and goalkeeper David Ospina were the obstacles in their way. Heading into half-time, the Gunners were up 1-0 but the game seemed far from over.

Striker Christian Benteke had a great chance to tie the game in the 47th minute when he played a one-two with midfielder Fabian Delph, but Benteke’s blazed over. The Belgian international had another opportunity to score in the 51st minute when left-back Kieran Richardson delivered a great cross into the box only for the 24-year-old to miss the target again. As Aston Villa were continuing to apply pressure on Arsenal’s defense, another counter-attack ensued and Giroud sent a neat through-ball down the middle of the pitch for Ozil to collect and the 2014 World Cup winner dribbled into the box and scored with aplomb. This forced the Birmingham-based into action as they decided to commit more players forward, but they lost the ball near the Gunners final third and the home team made a break quickly with midfielder Santi Cazorla leading the way. The Spanish international played a perfect pass to winger Theo Walcott, who jinked his way into the box and put the game to bed. Walcott was making his first Premier League start in 14 months since rupturing the ACL in his left knee against Tottenham last January.

Both teams each used two of their substitutions between the 66-70th minute and youngster Chuba Akpom replaced Giroud. The 19-year-old drew a penalty when goalkeeper Brad Guzan fouled him in the box and Cazorla stepped up to make the game 4-0 with his poised finish. In the 92nd minute Cazorla found his compatriot in right-back Hector Bellerin outside the 18-yard-box and the youngster hit an inch-perfect first time shot to claim his first Premier League goal of his promising career.

With the win, Arsenal rise to fifth place on the table and face a massive derby clash with Spurs next Saturday. Villa are sitting precariously above the drop zone and face an imperious Chelsea outfit at home next.