Perhaps it was fitting that Arsenal took a giant stride towards the Champions League at the home of former European Cup winners. Or maybe it was simply a consequence of excellence. Whichever, a sixth victory in seven league games gives them a four-point cushion in fourth place. Pointless at the end of August, they enter April in a fine position.
Their winning run has been interrupted only by Liverpool but Steven Gerrard proved unable to emulate his former employers as Aston Villa suffered a second successive defeat. Arsenal instead produced a performance of ambition and authority, capped by one of their own. There may not be many 20-year-old talismen but in this, as in much else, Bukayo Saka seems an exception to the rule.
