Thomas Partey scored his first goal for Arsenal as the Gunners beat Aston Villa 3-1 to extend their unbeaten run in the Premier League to six matches on Friday.

Partey's first half header broke the Ghana midfielder's goal drought in his 40th appearance in all competitions since his move from Atletico Madrid 12 months ago.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang bagged Arsenal's second goal when he converted the rebound after his penalty was saved.

Emile Smith Rowe put the result beyond doubt early in the second half as Arsenal climbed to ninth place in the Premier League.

After losing their first three league games, Arsenal have gradually recovered their equilibrium.

Successive draws against Brighton and Crystal Palace had brought renewed pressure on Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta, but this was a tantalizing glimpse of what they could be under the Spaniard.

"I'm proud of the team. This is when we are good, when we play with real desire, real commitment and can have clear ideas of how to attack," Arteta said. "We are closer together as a team. This is what you get from young players. They need the consistency. That comes with experience and maturity. It has to happen now. They showed they can do it."

They won't find many opponents as obliging as Villa, who still looked shell-shocked after conceding three goals in the final 10 minutes to lose 3-2 against Wolves last weekend.

Jacob Ramsey's late goal was no consolation for a Villa team on a run of three consecutive defeats.

Meanwhile, Mohamed Salah has told Liverpool he wants to stay for the rest of his career, but the Egypt forward insisted the success of his contract negotiations with the club "doesn't depend on me".

Salah's current contract expires in 2023 and Liverpool is trying to finalize a new long-term deal.

The 29-year-old has so far been unable to come to terms with the Reds amid reports he wants wages that would make him one of the Premier League's top earners. That has sparked fear, Salah will leave Anfield eventually, a concern which fueled when he flirted with Real Madrid last season.

But, on the eve of Liverpool's clash with arch rivals Manchester United on Sunday, Salah put the ball in his club's court as he said he would stay forever given the chance.

"It doesn't depend on me, but if you asked me I would love to stay until the last day of my football career," Salah told Sky Sports on Friday. "But I can't say much about that, it's not in my hands. It depends on what the club wants. It doesn't depend on me. At the moment, I can't see myself ever playing against Liverpool. That would make me sad."

"It's hard. I don't want to talk about it, but it would make me really sad and at the moment I don't see myself playing against Liverpool, but let's see what will happen in the future," he added.

Salah has been in superb form for Jurgen Klopp's side this season, scoring 12 goals in 11 appearances in all competitions.

He is the first Liverpool player ever to score in nine successive games in all competitions and he also became the fastest player to score 100 goals for Liverpool in September.