An early penalty saw Olivier Giroud give Arsenal the lead in the eighth minute in Sunday’s 2-0 win at Aston Villa.

Always a boost to take the lead, especially after such little time, the Gunners didn’t look back and won the game fairly comfortably.

“I believe the approach was right, in the first half we were in complete control,” Arsenal boss Arsène Wenger said after the game.

“I was a bit anxious about the second half because we gave a lot on Wednesday night, we had a long trip.

“(The) second half was more difficult, we were a bit lucky on one or two occasions.”

Aston Villa pressed forward in the second half, but rarely troubled goalkeeper Petr Čech as a number of crosses into the box or shots from long range only saw the ball flying towards The Holte End rather than the goal.

After a big 3-0 win to stay in the Champions League on Wednesday, Arsenal are (for tonight, at least) now top of the Premier League.

“Overall for us it was a great week,” Wenger added.

“You know that with a team low in confidence it’s important not to let them get in the lead.”

By scoring so early on Sunday, the Gunners really set the tone for the game. More of the same over the festive period will leave us in a strong position as we enter the back end of the season.