Arsenal v Aston Villa (2015-16)

Arsenal v Aston Villa was a match which took place at the Emirates Stadiumon Sunday 15 May 2016.

Arsenal finished second in the Premier League for the first time since 2005 as they beat relegated Aston Villa thanks to an Olivier Giroud hat-trick.

Giroud headed Arsenal ahead early on but the hosts played nervously until he struck again, sweeping home from six yards after good work by Mesut Ozil.

The Frenchman was then put through by Hector Bellerin for his third.

Mark Bunn's own goal, diverting in Mikel Arteta's ricocheted shot, added further gloss to the scoreline.

The comprehensive win ensured Arsenal leapfrogged faltering Tottenham - title contenders only a few weeks ago - after their north London rivals fell apart against Newcastle.

"It's happened again," sang Gunners fans at the end as they celebrated finishing above Spurs for the 21st consecutive season.

Victory over relegated Villa, a team which has not won an away game in any competition since the opening day of the season at Bournemouth, ought to have been a given, and it was - but it wasn't until the final 15 minutes that the home fans could truly relax.

By finishing second the Gunners have qualified for the Champions League for a 19th consecutive season, but this has been a particularly testing campaign for Arsene Wenger, whose critics point to the club's failure to mount a title challenge despite topping the table at the beginning of the year.