Unai Emery will be looking to upset his former club Arsenal for the second consecutive season when he takes his Aston Villa side to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
The Villans secured an impressive 2-0 win in this fixture last season, and the defeat proved costly for Arsenal in the Premier League title race. Late goals from Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey consigned the Gunners to a miserable afternoon.
Having won their previous three games, Villa will be looking to repeat last season’s heroics at the Emirates on Saturday, but will face a rejuvenated and fresh Arsenal side. The close North London derby triumphed against Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday evening.
Two goals in the space of four minutes secured a comeback win that moved Arsenal to within four points of league leaders Liverpool with a game in hand. Mikel Arteta will be hoping fellow Londoners Brentford can do his side a favor when they host the Reds earlier in the day.
here it is 90 minutes guide to arsenal vs Village.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa head-to-head results (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
arsenal |
Aston Villa |
|---|---|
|
Arsenal 2-1 Tottenham – 15/01/25 |
Everton 0-1 Aston Villa – 15/01/25 |
|
Arsenal 1-1 (3-5p) Man Utd – 12/01/25 |
Aston Villa 2-1 West Ham – 10/01/25 |
|
Arsenal 0-2 Newcastle – 01/07/25 |
Aston Villa 2-1 Leicester – 04/01/25 |
|
Brighton 1-1 Arsenal – 25/01/04 |
Aston Villa 2-2 Brighton – 30/12/24 |
|
Brentford 1-3 Arsenal – 01/25/01 |
Newcastle 3-0 Aston Villa – 26/12/24 |
|
country |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
united kingdom |
Main Event Sky Sports, Sky Sports Premier League, Sky Ultra HD, Sky GO, Sky GO Extra, NOW TV |
|
united states |
fuboTV, UNIVERS NOW, Peacock, Telemón Sports En Viu, UNIVERS, NBC |
|
canada |
fuboTV Canada, Fubo Sports Network Canada |
Arsenal’s injury problems are mounting as was Gabriel Jesus sidelined with an ACL injury against Manchester United in the FA Cup last weekend. The Brazilian will not play again this season and the Gunners are short in attacking areas Bukayo Saka also sidelined for the foreseeable future.
Ethan Nwaneri had made an impressive impact in recent weeks but is currently in the treatment room, joining defensive absentees Ben White and Takehiro Tomiyasu.
Riccardo Calafiori missed the north London derby with a muscle injury but could play against Villa.
Arsenal predicted line-up against Aston Villa (4-3-3): Stripe; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli.
Donyell Malen was Villa’s first signing of the January window and the former Borussia Dortmund player arrives with high expectations. He could make his debut at the Emirates, although Emery may be tempted to give him time to settle.
John McGinn and Ross Barkley are still absent in the center of the park, which could prove big mistakes for Villa in north London.
Emery is also without two of his senior centre-backs, with Pau Torres and Diego Carlos sidelined. The latter could leave Villa Park in January amid significant interest from Turkey.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal predicted line-up (4-2-3-1): Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Rogers, Tielemans, Ramsey; Watkins.
Arsenal have been unconvincing since Saka’s injury and Jesus’ absence for the rest of the season could force them into the transfer market as look for attack reinforcements. The Gunners have struggled to finish off their chances in recent weeks and relied on a set piece and defensive error to win against Spurs in midweek.
However, while Villa are in impressive form and boast some deadly strikers, they have struggled to keep clean sheets recently. His clean sheet against Everton was his first in the Premier League since early December against Southampton.
As a result, Saturday’s late kick-off could be a frantic affair and Villa will fancy their chances of picking up a point from their visit to north London.
