Arsenal face a tricky to trip to Villa Park this weekend as they look to maintain their lead over Manchester City in the Premier League table.
Mikel Arteta’s men can actually increase their advantage to 8 points (at least temporarily) as they are playing in the Saturday lunchtime kickoff.
Most Read on Gooner News
Asked by Best Betting Sites UK for his score prediction ahead of the fixture against Aston Villa, club legend Alan Smith said that he is backing the Gunners to secure a narrow victory:
“I’m going to go 2-1 to Arsenal.”
Villa are in red-hot form
Arsenal will be under no illusions about how tough the match will be this weekend. Unai Emery’s side have a better record than even the Gunners over the last ten league games.
They have won 8, drawn 1 and lost 1, accruing 25 points over that period. That is one more point than the league leaders.
Villa’s defence wasn’t exactly watertight when they won 4-3 against Brighton midweek, though, and considering Arsenal’s outstanding defensive record, that could prove to be the difference between the two in-form teams.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal team news
The Gunners will be hoping there is good news on the fitness of Declan Rice (calf) and Cristhian Mosquera (ankle/knee). Both players had to be substituted against Brentford, with the latter having to come off before halftime.
William Saliba (knock) and Leandro Trossard (muscular) are expected to be back in contention soon, with Arteta saying earlier this week that they could be available within a “matter of days”, while Gabriel (adductor) and Kai Havertz (knee) are still weeks away from making their comebacks.
Villa, meanwhile, have doubts over the fitness of first-choice keeper Emi Martinez due to a back injury. Tyrone Mings (thigh) and Ross Barkley (knee) have both been ruled out for the game.
Read more about the Arsenal First Team Squad for 2025/26 here