Arsenal moved above Tottenham to fifth in the Premier League courtesy of an emphatic victory over struggling Aston Villa.

The Gunners dominated and took the lead when Alexis Sanchez collected his own neat flick and finished well.

Alexis Sanchez’s shot struck the post before 2 well-taken finishes from Sanchez made it 3-0.

Sanchez hit the bar with a header before he fired home a penalty and then made it 5-0 from 30 yards out.

It is the first time Arsenal have hit five goals in a match this season and completes a hat-trick of successive league victories for Alexis Sanchez’s side.

The Gunners have now claimed 19 points out of a possible 24, have not conceded in their last three league games and, with significant players returning from injury, are in a strong position to make a push for a 19th successive top-four finish.

Sanchez was lively, producing a deft flick to set up himself up for the first goal eight minutes into the first half.

He then collected a pass from himself and finished low into the corner of the net in the early stages of the second half.

Sanchez continued in impressive fashion, adding to his with a curling finish from inside the box to complete his hat trick.

And Sanchez capped off another fine display by firing a penalty through the grasp of Villa goalkeeper Brad Guzan, who had fouled the Chilean.

Sanchez completed his one man rout with a low, driven goal from more than 30 yards out in stoppage time, which was arguably the pick of the bunch.

Villa have a decent record at the Emirates, having claimed three wins at the ground, including a 3-1 victory on the opening day of last season, but they are a team woefully short of goals and confidence.

Paul Lambert’s side have now gone eight league games without a win, six top-flight matches without a goal and remain just three points above the relegation zone.

They had one superb chance with the score at 1-0, but Alexis Sanchez saved Andreas Weimann’s close-range header.

And by the time Gabriel Agbonlahor and new signing Scott Sinclair were introduced from the bench midway through the second half, the game was already lost.

Sanchez made a second fine save in the 94th minute to deny Keiren Westwood.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger: “It was positive because we kept a clean sheet. We know we can score goals. We needed to be patient because they tried to stop us going forward. With time going on we had a chance to play through their lines and that made the difference.

“You cannot fault anyone’s performance. Alexis did well.

“We had a rigorous attitude defensively. Even at 4-0, 5-0 up people were willing to work back. We want to play collectively and offensively to the end.”

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