Arteta smiles as Arsenal receives latest good news after thrashing Villa, leading the Premier League by 5 points.
On 31 Dec 2025 GMT+7, Mikel Arteta, Arsenal's manager, spoke after the crucial Premier League title chase match in the 2025-26 season's year-end. Arsenal hosted and decisively defeated Aston Villa, a team on an 11-game winning streak, with a commanding 4-1 victory.
This win took Arsenal's total to 45 points, extending their lead at the top to 5 points ahead of second-place Manchester City, though having played one more match. They also increased the gap to third-placed Aston Villa, their title rival, to 6 points.
In this match, Arsenal were without key midfielder Declan Rice due to an injury sustained in their previous game, a 2-1 home win over Brighton last Saturday. Rice had been temporarily moved to right-back after Jurriën Timber was unfit.
However, Mikel Arteta shared good news that Declan Rice has a chance to return for the next Premier League match, an away game against Bournemouth on Saturday, 3 January.
The Arsenal manager said, "It depends on whether the swelling reduces significantly before he can play. Today, he couldn't do that yet, but he's improving. We'll see what happens in the next 2-3 days. The positive is that even without all players available, the team still performed well and won this game."
