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A tense and scrappy first half at the Emirates gave way to a dominant second-half display from the hosts, where goals from Gabriel Magalhaes and Martin Zubimendi quickly put them 2-0 ahead in the space of five minutes.
“It is a beautiful evening,” Arteta told Sky Sports. “That was a very tough match, as we knew it would be, because they are a top opponent to play against.
“The first 10 minutes were a bit shaky and we had to adjust things, but credit to them because they managed to break our press twice and were able to run, which they are very dangerous at.
“After that, we grabbed the game and we were creating the chances. The way we started the second half was amazing. We really turned things up and were efficient in everything that we did.
“We had to be really meticulous and understand the timing at which we were doing everything. It’s a big credit to my players because against this team it isn’t easy.”
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Coming into the tie, it seemed imperative that Arsenal closed out the year with an emphatic, statement performance, and they delivered.
“We have created a lot of chances in the last few weeks but we saw the difference today. We needed scrappy goals to win other games, but today the quality of our finishing was top and made the difference,” Arteta said.
It was also Gabriel’s first start since early November, and his opening goal sparked a ruthless period of control for Arsenal.
The 28-year-old has been a constant threat from set-pieces in an Arsenal shirt, and his presence forced the breakthrough as Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez fumbled the ball from a corner.
“We saw it today,” Arteta said about the importance of his defender.
“He came back after six weeks out, which should’ve probably been eight weeks out, but he came back earlier. He composed himself against probably one of the best strikers in the league, who is very hard to mark. I thought he was tremendous.”