Cech and Ozil breaks records, Alexis Sanchez back in training

Arsenal marched into the Premier League fixture after a victory against Olympiakos earlier this week, helping them qualify for the knock-out stage of the Champions League. Gunners earned a 2-0 victory against Aston Villa, moving top of the table, with players adding to their individual record tally.

Giroud, who scored a hat-trick earlier this week opened the scoring against Villa which makes his total league goals to 50 for the Gunners. This was Frenchman’s 9th goal in 16 games he has played so far this season in the Premier League.

Arsenal’s goalkeeper, Peter Cech now equals the record of David James with the most clean sheets in the Premier League, with his 169th being the victory against Villa today. Cech was reported to have broken the record earlier this season but he clarified on Twitter about four matches that didn’t qualify because he hadn’t played the entire 90 minutes of those fixtures.

Mesut Ozil has added yet another assist to his name in the game tonight. He now has 13 assists this season in the Premier League, five more than any players in the top European domestic leagues.

Gunners will face Manchester City next, with a possibility of staying on top during Christmas and a chance for Sanchez’s early return. Sanchez posted a photo in gym over the weekend:

Overall it’s been a good week for Arsenal. Arsene Wenger who was concerned about today’s match walked out of the match a happy man.

Speaking post-match, he said, ‘I was a bit anxious today because we gave a lot on Wednesday night and we came back very late on Thursday morning, and I knew that Villa were fighting to survive. For us it was maybe important to take the lead against a team who was low in confidence and then, 2-0 at half-time, I knew that the second half would certainly be a bit more difficult. But then we defended well, we didn’t manage to score the third goal but overall it was a controlled performance and a great week for us. Don’t worry, I had a few bad weeks already as well – sometimes it balances a little bit.’