Arsenal on cruise mode as they go top
GIROUD AND RAMSEY STRIKES KEEP VILLA ON THE MAT The defeat left Villa stranded at the foot of the table on six points from 16 games, six adrift of 19th-placed Sunderland.
Arsenal enjoyed an easy 2-0 victory at Aston Villa yesterday to soar to the summit of the Premier League and leave their hapless opponents rooted at rock bottom.
A landmark 50th Premier League goal from Olivier Giroud, a penalty converted four days after his Champions League hat-trick against Olympiakos Piraeus, swiftly brought more gloom to Villa Park after eight minutes.
Mesut Ozil then produced his 13th assist of the season to allow Aaron Ramsey to slot home a second goal in the 38th minute and enable Arsenal to move on to 33 points, one point clear of Manchester City and Leicester City.
Leicester have the chance to regain the leadership when they entertain Chelsea today.
Villa improved in the second half as Arsenal took their foot off the gas but manager Remi Garde, who as a player was once signed by Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger, could only hear the grumbles of discontent as his side went a club-record 15th league game without a win.
The defeat left Villa stranded at the foot of the table on six points from 16 games, six adrift of 19th-placed Sunderland. In another development, Valencia boss Gary Neville has categorically denied he is positioning himself to one day take charge of Manchester United, where he enjoyed a hugely successful 19-year playing career.
Not a great start
2
Neville was handed a surprise first managerial role at the Mestalla until the end of the season by Singaporean business partner and Valencia owner Peter Lim earlier this month.
However, he didn’t get off to a great start in his first match as head coach as Los Che crashed out of the Champions League in midweek due a 2-0 defeat to Lyon.
Yet, with United also failing to reach the knockout stages of the Champions League, and manager Louis van Gaal coming under increasing pressure after losing 2-1 to Premier League newcomers Bournemouth on Saturday, Neville had been suggested as a future boss at Old Trafford should his sixmonth stint in Valencia go well.
“No, I don’t see myself managing Manchester United at all. I know what I want to do in my life, and that’s not something that’s in my mind,” Neville told Sky Sports.
“From my point of view, this is important for me and a valuable experience. I’m aware I need to succeed. Succeeding for me would be knowing these players have improved dramatically.”