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Arsenal reclaims top spot while Villa stays within touching distance
Nicholas Quinlan • December 28th, 2025 1:15 pm
Arsenal have once again regained their lead at the top of the Premier League table thanks to a 2-1 win against Brighton overnight.
Having been in front at the start of the day, the Gunners would briefly fall into second place following Manchester City beating Nottingham Forest 2-1.
But with Martin Ødegaard shooting outside of the box to score his first goal of the season alongside an own goal from Georgino Rutter, it would be enough to withstand Brighton’s late challenge, which included a goal from Diego Gomez.
They were also helped by an exceptional save by David Raya, which needs to be seen to be believed, in the 75th minute.
Reflecting on the result post-match, manager Mikel Arteta admitted that the league leaders should have won by more, considering they generated 18 shots over Brighton's eight.
“Very happy with the performance individually and collectively,” he told the media.
“So, I’m very pleased with all of that, but the margin should have been much bigger.
“I mean, with the amount of situations, chances, open chances that we generated through the game, it should have never been 2-1.
“But, that’s the Premier League. That’s the step we have to make.”
In other results, reigning champions Liverpool beat Wolves 2-1 with Ryan Gravenberch and Florian Wirtz both scoring within the space of two minutes just after.
That would be Wirtz’s first goal for the Reds since joining Bayer Leverkusen for a reported 136.3 million Euros ($238.9 million AUD) during the last European summer.
Unai Emery’s Aston Villa continue to remain within reach of top spot, having claimed a 2-1 win against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues would take the initial lead through a Joao Pedro goal in the 37th minute and dominated the majority of the possession.
But two Ollie Watkins goals in the second half would change the game in their favour.
It is now their 8th straight win, which sets up a mouth-watering clash with Arsenal on New Year’s Eve (AEDT time).
Brentford would deliver a strong performance against Bournemouth as they proceeded to put four past the Cherries courtesy of a Kevin Schade hat trick.
That result sees them further cement their spot in the top half of the table as they now move to 8th place.
Burnley and Everton played out a nil-all draw at Turf Moor, while both Manchester United and Fulham secured 1-nil victories over Newcastle and West Ham, respectively.
The Premier League action continues tomorrow with Sunderland playing Leeds United, which will then be followed by Crystal Palace taking on Tottenham.
