Preview: Aston Villa v Arsenal | Pre-Match Report | News

We’ll look to extend our five-point lead at the top of the Premier League when we travel to Aston Villa on Saturday (12:30 p.m.), but the division’s most in-form team stands in our way.

Our opponents come into this game having won six games in a row in all competitions to revitalize their season, transforming Villa Park into a fortress having lost just one of their last 25 league encounters on home turf since we beat them 2-0 last August.

Indeed, we haven’t won more often at any other Premier League away ground than the 15 triumphs we have enjoyed in the claret and blue half of the Second City, and with our own 18-game unbeaten streak to maintain, Mikel Arteta’s men will be determined to put pressure on the chasing pack with another big result.

Villa wins pile up

Wednesday’s thrilling 4-3 win at Brighton & Hove Albion perfectly embodies Villa’s season so far. They started slowly, failing to win any of their first five games, including their only home defeat so far, when they were beaten 3-0 by Crystal Palace in August.

However, they have come back to win eight of their last nine Premier League games, including four in a row at the expense of Bournemouth, Leeds United, Wolves and Seagulls. This has seen them top the table, but more importantly, the Villans have quietly climbed to third position in the table, just six points behind us at the top.

Their League Cup adventure ended at the first hurdle on penalties against Brentford, but they won four of their five Europa League matches to leave them third in that competition as well, recording home wins over Bologna, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Young Boys as well as a 2-0 triumph at Feyenoord.

What leaders say

Arteta: “(Villa are) a team in great form and we know that. We also know the manager and the incredible job he has done there, so we know the task tomorrow, but we always take it as an opportunity.

“Every time you win a match you get one step closer to your goal, and that’s the only thing we can do. We have to focus on our performance, prepare very well for tomorrow, we know what kind of match we are going to play and be ready for it to fulfill our potential.” – every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference

Emery: “We are really happy with the way we are progressing, the way we are competing, the way we are scoring points, the way we now have the very huge opportunity tomorrow to play against Arsenal – the best team so far. I think they are the favorites to win the Premier League because they are performing and competing really fantastic.

“But the preparation, until tomorrow, is first of all rest, because we played two days ago and we arrived here late Wednesday. The players will feel a little tired, they are not recovering 100%, but we have hours until tomorrow at 12:30 p.m. to recover, to rest, to prepare the game plan.

Team News

Arteta will assess Declan Rice who came off late against Brentford in midweek with a calf problem, as well as Leandro Trossard and William Saliba who are closing in on their return. However Cristhian Mosquera will miss out after injuring his ankle in our win against the Bees.

Kai Havertz and Gabriel are our other longer-term injury concerns as they continue to rehab their knee and thigh issues respectively.

Emery has a pretty strong squad to choose from, although Emiliano Martinez withdrew from the win over Brighton in the warm-up due to a back problem and may not be fit to play against his former club.

The only injury problems Villa are currently juggling include Ross Barkley, who injured his knee against Wolves last weekend and is out for six weeks, while Tyrone Mings will be out until the new year with a hamstring problem.

Talking about tactics

Adrien Clarke: Emery has mainly used a 4-2-3-1 this season, so it would be a surprise if he moves away from that. We know his team will be well organized and aggressive, and when we have possession they will fill the middle third with bodies. Villa hold a high line, and this offside trap could be an area we look to target using runs in behind.

Villa have shown a real taste for scoring goals from long range in 2025/26 as nine of their 17 league goals have come from outside the box. This is a division high, with 15% of their attempts from distance finding the back of the net. Some of these blockbusters come from direct free kicks, so giving fouls in Morgan Rogers and Emi Buendia’s shooting range could be problematic.

With three goals and three assists, Rogers is undoubtedly their dangerous man. He has played at No.10 or on the left wing recently, so we can’t know where he will be deployed, but in the corresponding match last season he showed exceptional power and pace from the central areas, so my hunch would be that he starts behind Ollie Watkins.

Chance creation has been a problem for our opponents, who rank 15th for expected goals and big chances created, but we shouldn’t let that statistic fool us. Ranking third in the table, they play with a lot of confidence and they are very difficult to break in front of their own fans.

Facts and statistics

Since returning to the competition in 2019, Aston Villa have won five of their 12 Premier League matches against us, as many as in their previous 45 before relegation.

We have only lost one of our last 21 away matches in the Premier League (W11, D9), at Liverpool in August. We are undefeated in 30 away games, scoring at least once.

Eight of our last 13 away goals in the Premier League have been headers, including six of the nine we have scored away from home. Meanwhile, four of the last six home league goals conceded by Aston Villa have been headed, including each of the last three goals in a row.

Since the start of the 2020/21 season, Villa have won nine of their 12 league matches which kick off at 12.30pm on a Saturday, although both defeats in this series have come at home.

We have not conceded more than twice in our last 108 games in all competitions, the longest run of any team in English football league history, surpassing Manchester United’s 107 between 2016 and 2018.

Bukayo Saka has contributed to four goals in his last six Premier League matches against Aston Villa (2 goals, 2 assists), with both of his goals coming at Villa Park.

Ollie Watkins has six goals in 10 Premier League matches against us, including most against Brighton (9).

Match officials

Peter Bankes will call the whistle for this match, and we have won the last four matches he has managed, the last being our memorable 5-1 victory over Manchester City in February. In fact, we won eight and lost just one of the 11 Gunners games he was appointed to.

Villa have also enjoyed his presence recently, winning three and drawing one in the four matches he officiated last season. He has awarded the second most penalties in the top flight this season with four, including one in his last game when he oversaw Man City’s win over Leeds United last weekend.

Arbitrator: Peter Bankes
Assistants: Eddie Smart, Blake Antrobus
Fourth official: Adam Herczeg
VAR: Darren England
VAR Assistant: Marc Scholes

Latest trips to Villa Park

We have won three of our last four Premier League visits to the claret and blue half of Birmingham, including a 2-0 victory at this stadium last season when second-half goals from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey secured the points.

In December 2023, John McGinn’s early effort was the difference between the teams, but the previous season a series of late goals saw us earn a 4-2 success, helped by Emiliano Martinez’s own goal and a Gabriel Martinelli strike on the counter-attack. Before that, Bukayo Saka scored the only goal of the match to earn a 1-0 success in March 2022.

Live coverage

Live From N5 is the perfect place for live commentary of all our men’s first team matches in 2025/26.

Tune in just before kick-off, when Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke will once again be behind the mics to guide you through the action on the pitch.

You can also discover which broadcasters show the action livewherever you are in the world.