Wednesday’s briefing: Arsenal thrash title rivals and Johnson linked with Palace

Arsenal launched a second-half blitz to overpower Premier League rivals Aston Villa and move further clear at the top of the table.

Manchester United boss Ruben Amorim saw his side booed off after a 1-1 draw with basement boys Wolves at Old Trafford, but there was joy for Newcastle boss Eddie Howe as the Magpies survived a Burnley fightback to win a league game on the road for just the second time this season.

Elsewhere, Tottenham frontman Brennan Johnson has a decision to make after Crystal Palace formalised their interest in him.

Gunners put title pretenders in their place

Arsenal scored four times in a rampant second-half display to secure a statement 4-1 win over Premier League title rivals Aston Villa.

After a goalless first half at the Emirates Stadium, the Gunners were ahead inside three minutes of the second period when Emiliano Martinez flapped at Bukayo Saka’s corner and the ball rolled in off Gabriel’s thigh.

Arsenal doubled their advantage on 52 minutes after Martin Zubimendi converted Martin Odegaard’s exquisite defence-splitting pass, with Leandro Trossard scoring from long range after 69 minutes to put the game firmly out of Villa’s reach.

Gabriel Jesus then netted his first goal since New Year’s Day just moments after coming on as a substitute and Ollie Watkins scored a consolation for the visitors in injury time as the home side went five points clear at the top of the table.

Boos at Old Trafford as Wolves end losing streak

Manchester United’s topsy-turvy 2025 ended with a poor 1-1 draw at home to Wolves as the Premier League’s bottom side collected a first point since Rob Edwards took charge.

Three weeks on from triumphing 4-1 at Molineux, Ruben Amorim’s side struggled in the absence of that night’s goalscorers Bruno Fernandes, Bryan Mbeumo and Mason Mount.

United were without eight senior players in total, but so too were embattled Wolves, who bounced back from Joshua Zirkzee’s opener through the man whose deflection sent the ball home.

Ladislav Krejci nodded the visitors level just before the break and that proved enough to snap an 11-match losing league run.

Happy Howe celebrates rare away win

Eddie Howe celebrated a “massive win” as Newcastle claimed just only their second Premier League success on the road this season with a 3-1 victory over relegation-battling Burnley.

Joelinton struck after just 65 seconds and Yoane Wissa marked his first league start for the club with a goal, although the Magpies had to withstand a fightback from the Clarets after Josh Laurent reduced the deficit before Bruno Guimaraes wrapped up the points.

Relieved head coach Howe said: “It’s a massive win for us. I don’t think it really mattered so much in terms of how we did it, we just needed to do it.

“We started really strongly in recognition of how important the game was for us and I can’t praise the players enough for how they battled through. It was never going to be easy in the second half. It was a massive 45 minutes and to get over the line, full credit to the players who saw they game out.”

Eagles eye £35million Johnson

Crystal Palace have reached an agreement with Tottenham over a £35million fee to sign Brennan Johnson, but the Wales international is yet to make his mind up over the move.

Johnson finished as Spurs’ leading scorer last season with 18 goals and produced the winner in the Europa League final against Manchester United to end the club’s 17-year wait for silverware.

However, Johnson has largely been a back-up to summer recruit Mohammed Kudus on the right wing since Thomas Frank replaced Ange Postecoglou in June and speculation over a departure away from Tottenham has recently increased.

The Press Association understands Palace are leading the race to sign the 24-year-old after they struck an agreement with Spurs on Tuesday.

What’s on today?

At the Africa Cup of Nations, it is decision day with the final berths in the last 16 up for grabs.

Group E leaders Algeria, who have already booked their place, face pointless Equatorial Guinea, while Sudan and Burkina Faso battle it out for the remaining top-two spot, while in Group F, top-of-the-table Ivory Coast play Gabon – also yet to open their account – and Cameroon meet Mozambique.