Buoyed by the return of Gabriel to the starting XI, Arsenal began largely on the front foot, with the first chance of any note seeing the adventurous Piero Hincapie hang up a cross for Viktor Gyokeres - who was seeking a first open-play goal since November 1st - to nod over.
Not long afterwards, Amadou Onana went down in the Arsenal box under the challenge of William Saliba, but referee Darren England only gave a corner. Villa started to come back into it when Ezri Konsa nipped the ball off Gyokeres’ toes and fed Ollie Watkins, whose effort went wastefully wide.
Villa went into this contest with fresh memories of dramatically beating Arsenal 2-1 in the reverse fixture earlier this month, but their plans for a repeat were scuppered when the in-form Onana was replaced by captain John McGinn due to injury.
Unable to adapt sufficiently, the visitors fell behind on 48’ when Bukayo Saka swung in a corner, at the end of which Emiliano Martinez spilt the ball under pressure from Gabriel, who bundled it home.
The Villa players’ claims of infringement went ignored, and with their frustrations still simmering, they conceded for a second time just five minutes later.
Martin Odegaard dispossessed Jadon Sancho and played a brilliantly weighted pass to Martin Zubimendi, who calmly poked home.
In response, Unai Emery made a double change around an hour in that included the introduction of Donyell Malen for Sancho, but Villa continued to come under siege and conceded their third of the evening when Leandro Trossard lashed in from the edge of the area.
Gabriel’s evening ended disappointingly due to another injury, but another Gabriel, namely Jesus, came on late in proceedings to make an instant impact, curling in majestically after being found by the excellent Trossard.
Saka could have added to that tally in the closing minutes, but it didn’t matter, although Arsenal failed to keep a clean sheet for the third match in succession thanks to Watkins’ stoppage-time consolation.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Leandro Trossard (Arsenal)