31/12/2025 – Arsenal 4-1 Villa “Unplayable After the Break: Arsenal’s Second‑Half Surge”

Truly one of the best nights I’ve experienced at The Emirates, we finished the year off in true style. The atmosphere was out of this world, and my voice is paying the price this morning. A cab back home at 2am really summed up how big that result felt. Before the game I was a bag of nerves, I couldn’t really see a way in which we would win the game based off our recent performances, but those nerves dissipated when Arsenal 2.0 came out at half time. Whatever Arteta said to them at half time got exactly the reaction that was needed. In the first half we were caught out on the counterattack multiple times and Watkins should’ve put them ahead, we were also too slow in our build up play leaving Gyokores to battle it out in their low block. The second half on the other hand, wow, our press was precise and intense, our ball movement was so much quicker, Villa couldn’t handle it. Arteta got it spot on in the second half and spot on with his changes too. What a story for Jesus, almost a year to the day where he did his ACL, he comes off the bench and scores a beauty! The cherry on top of the cake. The importance of that win really cements us as the team to beat this season; there was a lot of media chatter before the game of how we haven’t looked great and with Villa flying if anyone will beat us it would be them. How wrong they were.

Odegaard was absolutely purring last night, the best performance from him in nearly two seasons, his triggering of the press and how he conducts the team is one thing but doing that while setting up beautiful goals and constantly being a goal threat is just great to watch. He really did take Villa by storm, and they couldn’t get close to him, his little jink before sliding in Zubimendi was subtle but perfection! Zubimendi is one of the best signings of the season he has been Mr consistent, but he has turned it up a notch recently. Playing without Rice yesterday could’ve killed us but our midfield duo of Odeagaard and Zubimendi controlled that second half and we all forgot Rice wasn’t on the pitch. Having Timber back in at right back was massive for us, I’ve said it before but he has been one of our best players this season and he just eases his way to 9/10 performance most weeks. He is so good on the ball, and he makes the right decisions in both boxes. Every player deserves a mention really, but our two centre halves make such a difference when they player together, they give us a base that everyone trusts, Gabriel back with a goal but also just a great defensive performance alongside Saliba. The athleticism of those two allows them to make defending look easy, even when they are in difficult situations.

Gyokores has 7 goals so far this season and the media are really starting to dig him out as Havertz and Jesus are back. But in my opinion, it’s not just the goals that make a good striker, the way he battles every game, he works his socks off, often while being battered and bruised by the opposition. He creates so much space for Saka and Odegaard to operate, last night some of his movement was drawing two or three Villa players with him. Obviously some more goals would be fantastic but the work he does for the team cannot be overlooked simply because he isn’t scoring every game.

That second half performance really was a statement that we are the best team in the country and we are going to battle to the very end to get our hands on some silverware. So, we finish 2025 unbeaten at home and top of the pile with Bournemouth up next, it will be a real test where we have struggled in the past, but we have come through the toughest month of the season and topped it off with a corker!

I’ll be doing a December roundup for the games I missed over the Christmas period so stay tuned. What a finish to a great year, Happy New Year.

COYG!

The Northbank Blogger.

Player Ratings:

Raya 9/10

Timber 9/10

Saliba 9/10

Gabriel 9.5/10

Hincapie 9/10

Zubimendi 9.5/10

Odegaard 9.5/10

Merino 7/10

Saka 8.5/10

Gyokores 8/10

Trossard 9/10

Subs:

Jesus 9/10         White N/A

Norgaard 7/10  Lewis Skelly 7/10

Madueke N/A