Mikel Arteta lauded Arsenal's meticulous display and finishing as they claimed a 4-1 win over Aston Villa to go five points clear at the top of the Premier League.

After a tough first half, Arsenal motored clear in the second half against the third-placed visitors at Emirates Stadium. The result means they will finish the year top of the Premier League for the seventh time – the joint most alongside Manchester United and Liverpool.

Gabriel Magalhaes marked his return from almost six weeks out with a hamstring injury by turning home a corner three minutes after the restart, before Martin Zubimendi stabbed home their second four minutes later.

Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus added fine goals to put Arsenal out of sight, with Ollie Watkins bagging a late consolation after John McGinn failed to beat David Raya from point-blank range.

"It is a beautiful evening. That was a very tough match, as we knew it would be, because they are a top opponent to play against," Arteta told Sky Sports.

"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.

"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 the quality of our finishing was top and made the difference."

Arsenal were without midfielder Declan Rice, who Arteta left out after a knock he picked up in the 2-1 win over Brighton on Saturday.

The Gunners boss said Rice's issue should only be a short-term one, with their next task being a trip to Bournemouth at the weekend.

"Declan got a big kick in his knee during the match [against Brighton], at the start of the match actually, and by the time he finished the match, he had a massive swell up.

"I hope that when the swelling comes out, he can function [and] he will be fine."

There was more positive news on the injury front, however, as defender Gabriel produced a typically impressive display after sitting out nine matches.

"He came back after six weeks out, which should've probably been eight weeks out, but he came back earlier," said Arteta.

"He composed himself against probably one of the best strikers in the league, who is very hard to mark. I thought he was tremendous."