LONDON: Arsenal climbed above rivals Tottenham Hotspur into fifth in the Premier League and inflicted more misery on a goal-shy Aston Villa with an emphatic 5-0 victory on Sunday that fuelled their top-four hopes.

Goals from Olivier Giroud, Mesut Ozil, Theo Walcott, Santi Cazorla and Hector Bellerin helped Arsenal move level on points with fourth-placed Southampton and a step closer to a Champions League qualification spot.

The day got better for Arsene Wenger’s side when a stunning Jonjo Shelvey strike gave Swansea City a surprise 1-0 away win at Southampton who had defender Ryan Bertrand sent off late on.

France forward Giroud opened the scoring at the Emirates Stadium in the eighth minute after he was sent clear by Ozil’s delightful flick before the German added a second with a low finish.

Walcott added a third after a razor-sharp counter attack, Cazorla scored a fourth from the penalty spot after substitute Chuba Akpom was felled by Brad Guzan and Bellerin completed the rout with a wonderfully-placed fifth.

“I think the first half was quite cautious, Aston Villa came at us with a game plan and they pressurised us,” Walcott told Sky Sports.

“Going into the break we thought 1-0 was just deserved but the second half I couldn’t think of a more one-sided game. It was a great victory and it’s always important to get a lot of goals.”

Arsenal have 42 points from 23 games, two clear of Spurs, and trail third-placed Manchester United by a point.

Villa, 16th and without a win since Dec 7, have not scored a Premier League goal since Dec 20, a run of six games, and are three points above the relegation zone.

After Manchester United leapfrogged them into third with victory on Saturday, Southampton knew a win against out-of-form Swansea would restore them to the top three.

Southampton made an enterprising start at St Mary’s, with Nathaniel Clyne teeing up James Ward-Prowse for a shot that Lukasz Fabianski saved.

But after hitting the post from long range early in the second half, Shelvey gave Swansea a smash-and-grab win in the 83rd minute by crashing a shot inside Fraser Forster’s right-hand post from 25 yards to lift his side to ninth place.

On Saturday, Chelsea and Manch­ester City drew 1-1 in their top-of-the-table clash at Stamford Bridge, leaving Jose Mourinho’s team five points clear of City.

Chelsea’s run of 10 straight home league wins came to an end when David Silva cancelled out Loic Remy’s opener just before half-time. There were no further goals, and very few on-target attempts in the second half which City edged in terms of possession.

“It was a solid game and Chelsea probably accepted a point in the end,” said City midfielder Frank Lampard, playing at Stamford Bridge for the first time since leaving Chelsea in May after 13 years. “Chelsea will be happy to be five points clear, we’re not stupid. We know what that lead is. But there are lots of points to play for.”

The result left Chelsea top on 53 points, five ahead of City on 48 with Manchester United third on 43 after Robin van Persie and Radamel Falcao rediscovered their scoring touch in a 3-1 win over Leicester City at Old Trafford.

Van Persie put United ahead in the 27th minute with his first goal since Dec 26 and Falcao netted only the fourth goal of his loan spell from Monaco five minutes later. The victory was wrapped up before halftime through Wes Morgan’s own goal.

Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool maintained their challenges for a top four finish with Spurs winning 3-0 at West Bromwich Albion where Harry Kane scored twice to move up to 40 points.

Liverpool are seventh on 38 after beating West Ham United 2-0 at Anfield where Daniel Sturridge scored on his return after five months out with various injuries. “It’s a team game and I am happy the team won,” Sturridge told the BBC. “It’s just good to be back.”

The only winners among the bottom eight clubs were Sunderland, who beat Burnley 2-0 thanks to goals from Connor Wickham and Jermain Defoe, who scored his first goal for his new club after 34 minutes.

Published in Dawn February 2nd , 2015

On a mobile phone? Get the Dawn Mobile App: Apple Store | Google Play