Arsenal made hard work of their victory over Aston Villa, on a night when two of the four teams above them had easy wins - with City winning 3-0, and United thrashing Fulham 5-0 at the Cottage.

But the win takes Arsenal into Christmas with a much needed three points and - hearteningly and, perhaps, surprisingly - two points clear of Liverpool, who could only manage a goalless score-draw at Wigan.

Leading by example

Robin Van Persie scored his 34 goal of the calendar year - with a penalty in the 17th minute, following a weaving run and turn by Walcott, with Ciaran Clark pulling him back by the shirt, leaving the referee with an easy decision. And it was Van Persie who was the provider for the winner - with Yossie Benayoun, one of the smallest players on the field, stooping to head the second from a van Persie corner, with just a few minutes of the match to play at the end of the second half.

So, Robin van Persie’s pre-match briefing on the need to kill off the game and get the win, seemed to have done the trick. As he said earlier in the week:: “Nobody can play beautiful football all the time...“I tell our lads ‘If it’s not happening for you, just try to kill off the game so we can move on’.

Winning by numbers

The last time Villa won at home against Arsenal, they came from behind (0-2) at half-time to win 3-2, in December 1998.

When they scored the equaliser in the 54th minute, it looked like history might be repeating itself, with Villa dominating play from late in the first half.

Although Arsenal had considerably more of the possession over the course of the game, the match was very even in terms of possession from around the 40th minute through to the 80th:

●     Villa had 9 shots to Arsenal’s 11 (3 and 5 on target respectively)

●     Villa’s passing accuracy was poor, however, with only 71% compared to Arsenal’s 82%.

Villa weren’t able to convert their pressure and possession in the middle phase into clear-cut changes - a charge frequently made of Arsenal in previous years. But it was Arsenal who eventually got the much-needed win.

Key substitutions

Arsenal started with a broadly familiar midfield and front line, but yet another variation of the back four - with Francis Coquelin starting at Right Back and Thomas Vermalen at Left Back.

The full line-up was: Szczesny, Coquelin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Vermaelen, Frimpong, Arteta, Ramsey, Walcott, Gervinho, Van Persie.

Frimpong was the enforced change in midfield, taking over from the suspended Song.

The performance overall was poor, with a number of players looking a little off-colour after the tiring game against City.  In particular, Frimpong had an off night - missing both passes and tackles in the first half, and being replaced by Rosicky mid-way through the second half.  That seemed to be the turning point, with Arsenal playing a much calmer, forward-focused, game for the rest of the match.

But it was one of the later subs who was the night’s hero. Benayoun and Arshavin came on for Ramsey and Gervinho, in the 80th minute, and both provided the zip which had been lacking earlier in the game. A period of sustained pressure, with a number of resulting corners, ended with the bigger of the two substitutes scoring the winner - much to the joy of players and supporters alike.

Key men?

So Benayoun sealed it, and van Persie was yet again a provider and scorer. One man team? The person who was missed the most was, arguably, Alex Song. His calming influence, imperious defensive cover, and confident forward runs and through balls seemed to be what the side lacked most.

The star man on the night was probably Koscielny, who put in yet another confident performance at the centre of defence.

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