Arsenal have moved level on points with fourth-placed Chelsea courtesy of a 3-1 victory over Burnley at the Emirates Stadium this afternoon.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored either side of half time to move out in front in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot, but the hosts were forced to endure a nervy finale after Ashley Barnes pulled a goal back for Burnley just after the hour mark.
Alex Iwobi finally put the game to bed with Arsenal's third in stoppage time, though, as Burnley's battling performance proved fruitless, consigning them to a place in the relegation zone on Christmas Day when 12 months ago they were seventh.
Arsenal, meanwhile, remain fifth and are only outside the Champions League places on goal difference - at least until Chelsea take on Leicester City later today.
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The match got off to a quick start with chances at both ends inside the opening two minutes, with Ainsley Maitland-Niles first drawing a smart stop from Joe Hart before Burnley went straight up the other end and fired wide through Ashley Westwood, who should have done better.
It set the tone for a frantic opening 20 minutes or so which saw both sides look to get forward, although it was Arsenal who created the better chances and Granit Xhaka - initially back in his preferred midfield position as Arsenal began the game with a diamond 4-4-2 - forced Hart into a routine save with his long-range drive in the eight minute.
Just seconds later Alexandre Lacazette stood a cross into the area for Mohamed Elneny, who was making his first league appearance of the season, but his header was blocked before a mini-scramble ensued inside the Burnley six-yard box.
The opening goal did arrive after only 14 minutes when Aubameyang fired home from Sead Kolasinac's cut-back, although the returning Mesut Ozil was the architect with an exquisite pass to Kolasinac in the first place.
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Maitland-Niles then fired straight at Hart as Arsenal began to gain a greater degree of control over the game, although the early flow of chances soon diminished and the most notable moments of the rest of the first half were a couple of tussles between Ashley Barnes and Sokratis Papastathopoulos which left both players on yellow cards.
An already-injury-ravaged Arsenal defence was struck by another blow towards the end of the half as Nacho Monreal limped off to be replaced by Stephan Lichtsteiner, forcing Unai Emery to revert to a three-man defence.
The switch in formation did not appear to do Arsenal any harm initially, and having gone into the break ahead of the first time in the Premier League all season, the hosts then doubled their advantage within three minutes of the restart.
Once again Aubameyang was the scorer as he moved out on his own as the Premier League's leading marksman this season, thumping a finish into the roof of the net after Lacazette had found him at the end of a swift counter-attack.
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Burnley responded well to Arsenal's second, though, and the visitors benefitted from the game becoming scrappier and more feisty during the second half.
More to follow.
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