Arsenal travel to the West Midlands for a tough early-season test at Aston Villa. Unai Emery’s side won both of their games against the Gunners last season, winning 1-0 at home and 2-0 at the Emirates in mid-April. This home defeat is one of those games that will be seen as a decisive moment and a painful point loss in the title race. No doubt the Gunners will be hoping for a better performance and a little revenge.
It’s important that Arsenal get a result today. It would be a psychological boost to get points against a team that beat the club twice last season. And then there’s the matter of Unai Emery, although there are currently more players in the Arsenal squad that Emery hasn’t coached than those he has. And it’s not going to be any easier for the Gunners for a while either. After today, Arsenal host Brighton and then face Tottenham and Manchester City after the international break.
Mikel Arteta has played down the issue of Emery’s former manager, any rumours of a rivalry between Basque managers and even last season’s results against Villa. For him and his team, it’s about staying focused and executing the game plan against a talented side. Unai Emery deserves a lot of credit for what he has done at Aston Villa. They are a Champions League club this season and will be tough opponents for anyone in the Premier League, especially at home.
It will be interesting to see how Emery fares this season with expectations weighing heavily on his shoulders and those of his team. In the past he has shown he can push his teams to the limit, but when expectations have reached a higher level he has not managed them quite so well. He will have his team ready to face Arsenal, you can be sure of that. And he will be able to position them as underdogs, even at home if he wants to.
I bet the Arsenal dressing room wants this win maybe even more than usual, even if they don’t admit it. However, this team doesn’t need any extra motivation in any game. They know they have to be as perfect as possible. They have battled with Manchester City in the top games for two seasons in a row. This is one of Arsenal’s ways to improve their points tally from last season and get the points they lost last year.
Villa look a little different to last season, although probably no less dangerous. They swapped Douglas Luiz in midfield for Amadou Onana. They also sold Moussa Diaby and will be looking for Leon Bailey and new signing Jaden Philogene to fill the gap on the wing. They signed left-back Ian Maatsen to bolster their defense, brought back Emi Buendia from a cruciate ligament injury that kept him out of action all of last season, and signed Ross Barkley for more depth and experience in midfield. Tyrone Mings should return to action soon, as like Buendia he suffered a cruciate ligament tear that kept him out of action all of last year. Also keep an eye on Jhon Duran, he scored the winning goal as a 30-minute substitute for Ollie Watkins.
As they did last season, Villa will look to hit Arsenal with quick counterattacks and fast-developing attacks. William Saliba and Gabriel will need to sniff out attacks in midfield at lightning speed and stop them before they can develop. If Arsenal can prevent Villa’s attackers from returning to the ball, turning and playing it into open space down the wings, it will go a long way to neutralising their attacking threat. Villa will likely look to bypass Arsenal’s midfield and apply pressure all around, but Kai Havertz and Martin Ødegaard can make that difficult by restricting time and space, preventing Villa from playing the longer balls with accuracy. Declan Rice and Thomas Partey will need to hunt down the second ball and help break up attacks before they can develop.
Arsenal should have the upper hand on the right. Lucas Digne is a good, experienced Premier League player, but Bukayo Saka is better. The triangle of Ben White, Ødegaard, Saka will be difficult to defend, especially with Youri Tielemans as the base of the Villa midfield on the left. The Belgian is excellent on the ball, but his defense leaves something to be desired. I also think Gabriel Martinelli’s pace against Matty Cash is likely.
It’s an exciting matchup between the clubs. You could say they’re roughly evenly matched in terms of attacking prowess. The Gunners scored 15 more goals than Villa last season. Arsenal’s defence is better. Aston Villa’s defence was mediocre last season. The Gunners should be favourites to get a result but as last season showed, Aston Villa are more than capable of beating Arsenal. As Mikel Arteta said of both games last year, “They scored, we didn’t.” His team will have to change that this time.
Unai Emery will have to do without the long-term injured Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings. Kamara will not be able to train with the team for a few more weeks. Mings is expected to join his teammates soon.
Gabriel Jesus is a surprise injury for the Gunners. The Brazilian is out with a groin injury. Takehiro Tomiyasu is expected to be out for a few more weeks with the knee injury he sustained during pre-season.
Arsenal- Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Timber, Rice, Partey, Ødegaard, Martinelli, Saka, Havertz
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Wood starts at the back
⚖️ In the middle there is rice
⚡️ Saka on the wingsReady to work – COME ON, YOU GUNNERS!
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) 24 August 2024
Aston Villa – Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Pau, Digne, Onana, Tielemans, McGinn, Bailey, Rogers, Watkins
WHAT: Arsenal at Aston Villa
WHERE: Villa Park
WHEN: Saturday, August 24 9:30am PT | 12:30pm ET | 5:30pm BST
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