Two of the Premier League’s top three go head-to-head on Saturday as we put our six-match winning run on the line against in-form Aston Villa, who sit just four points behind us at the league’s summit.
Since we beat the Villans on their own patch back in February, Unai Emery’s team have gone on to win all 14 of their home league encounters including Wednesday’s dominant success over Manchester City, and will break a club record should they make it 15 in a row at our expense.
However we have won each of our last four meetings with Villa, but if we are to repeat that feat we’ll have to do so without Mikel Arteta on the touchline as he will watch on from the stands after picking up a ban for accumulating three yellow cards this term.
Emery’s Villa real deal
Having ended last season by winning 10 of their final 15 fixtures, Villa have continued that form into this campaign by forcing their way into the fledgling title race, while also reaching the knockout stages of the UEFA Conference League with a game to spare.
Heavy defeats at Newcastle United and Liverpool in their opening four games proved to be an exception, as they have gone on to win eight of their subsequent 11 matches.
Their only other league loss came at Nottingham Forest last month, and Villa Park has become the fortress of all fortresses as they have won all seven Premier League games on home soil.
The last of those saw them claim a 1-0 success over reigning champions City in midweek thanks to Leon Bailey’s goal, in what was their most eye-catching display during the Emery era, increasing expectations in the second city that something special could be brewing for the claret and blues.
What the managers say
Emery: “I’m going to be very deeply analysing how we can face the match tomorrow, hopefully being better in our performances individually and collectively. How we finished the match on Wednesday is very important because they did an amazing effort, but a hard effort.
“If you want to play at this level, playing against the best teams in the world in the Premier League, the challenge is very hard. Our ambition is for an exciting moment with our supporters with the rivals we want to face and how we can face them. Tomorrow is another step ahead, playing against maybe the best team in this season in the Premier League.”
Arteta: “Tactically [Villa] are really well set up, they do two or three different things, they are really brave to play from the back. They really attack you because they have players between the lines that can hurt you; they have players in open spaces that are constantly threatening you.
“But not only that, the spirit that they have created, the atmosphere, the intensity, and the belief that they have at the moment that they can go on and beat anybody.
“It’s a great place to go, one of my favourite grounds, a very English ground and a great atmosphere to play football in.” – read every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
Team news
Following the Luton game, Arteta suggested that Takehiro Tomiyasu is set for a few weeks on the sidelines due to a calf injury, joining fellow full-back Jurrien Timber in the treatment room.
Thomas Partey, Fabio Vieira and Emile Smith Rowe are our other absentees as they continue to rehab from their respective ailments.
Emery will be without long-term injury casualties Tyrone Mings and Emiliano Buendia who picked up knee injuries earlier in the campaign, while winger Bertrand Traore has a knock and is unlikely to feature.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke: Villa usually line up in a narrow 4-2-2-2 formation but as they showed against Manchester City last time out, they can also revert to a 4-5-1.
Pushing their back four up as high as they can, and tucking their wide players infield, Villa deliberately turn the middle third into a crowded place where it is hard to put your foot on the ball. This helps them create valuable turnovers, but holding such a high line comes with an element of risk.
Captain John McGinn is a player we must keep close tabs on. He drifts in from the left into some great pockets of space, and from those areas the Scot has the talent to provide goals and assists. Another key strength is the pace and movement of Ollie Watkins, who has scored eight Premier League goals at a rate of one every 163 minutes.
Knowing he will tirelessly run the channels; Emery’s side are able to go from back to front quicker than most Premier League teams. In fact, no one has produced more direct attacks than Aston Villa (38) in the season so far.
A key battleground to look out for is Declan Rice versus Douglas Luiz, two of the strongest all-round central midfielders in the country. The Brazilian is enjoying a fine campaign as the heartbeat of Emery’s side, and it will be fascinating to see who gains the upper hand in their duel.
Facts and stats
We have won 36 points this season, only having more points at this stage of a top-flight campaign in 1990/91 (37), 2007/08 (37) and 2022/23 (40).
We have lost just two of our last 21 away Premier League games against Aston Villa (W12 D7), losing consecutively in 2019/20 and 2020/21.
We could become just the third side to score 100 goals against Aston Villa in the Premier League (currently 98) after Manchester United (101) and Liverpool (100).
Aston Villa have won each of their last 14 Premier League home games by an aggregate scoreline of 38-7, never conceding more than a single goal in any game during this run.
Only Man City and Man Utd (47 each) have won more home Premier League points in 2023 than Villa (46 – W15 D1 L2).
Villa are winless in eight Premier League games against sides starting the day top of the table (D1 L7), losing the last five in a row. Their last such victory was in March 2014 (1-0 vs Chelsea).
Since the start of last season, we have won more away games (17) and more away points (55) than any other Premier League side. The Gunners have also conceded fewer goals on the road than any other ever-present side in that time (24).
Leon Bailey has been involved in eight goals in his last 12 Premier League appearances (5 goals, 3 assists). The Jamaican hasn’t completed 90 minutes in any of those games, averaging a goal or assist every 63 minutes.
Ollie Watkins has four goals in six Premier League appearances against us, scoring in two of three such games at Villa Park.
Both Gabriel Jesus (P58 W53 D5 L0) and Gabriel Martinelli (P26 W22 D4 L0) have never lost a Premier League game in which they’ve scored in.
Match officials
For the first time since November 2022, Australian Jarred Gillett is handed one of our games to oversee, with the last encounter seeing us exit the League Cup at the hands of Brighton & Hove Albion. He also took charge of our 2-1 win against Fulham in the opening month of last season.
We have won three of the four occasions he has been our referee, and it’ll be the third time already this campaign he has taken charge of a Villa game, on the back of their win at Chelsea and 2-0 loss at Nottingham Forest – the last time they tasted defeat.
Referee: Jarred Gillett
Assistants: Darren Cann, James Mainwaring
Fourth official: Graham Scott
VAR: Michael Salisbury
Assistant VAR: Scott Ledger
Recent trips to Villa Park
Against no side have we won more Premier League away games than we have against Villa with number 14 racked up in February when we netted twice late on through an Emi Martinez own goal and a Gabriel Martinelli breakaway to clinch a 4-2 triumph that put us back on top of the table.
Bukayo Saka was also on target that day, and the season before he netted the only goal of the game to clinch victory.
We have lost just two of our last 21 away Premier League games at Villa Park, but both of those came consecutively in the form of 1-0 defeats in 2019/20 and 2020/21, the last of which saw Ollie Watkins grab the winner.
See five of our best wins at the home of the Villans, including Robert Pires magic, and braces from John Hartson and Ian Wright.
How to watch
Tune into Arsenal.com and the official app from an hour before kick-off where Nicole Holliday and Jeremie Aliadiere will be on hand to provide you with all the best Gooner-related build-up to the game at Villa Park.
They will be reflecting on the craziness of our win at Luton Town, as well as looking in-depth into what makes our opponents tick this term, where we could potentially exploit their weaknesses, as well as providing an update on how our academy and women’s teams are faring on what is a big weekend for both.
Then they’ll hand over to Dan Roebuck and Jonathon Rogers who will provide live commentary from the ground as we aim to make it seven-straight wins and maintain our spot at the top of the league.
You can also find out which broadcaster is showing the game wherever you are in the world.
Copyright 2023 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
