We’ll look to extend our five-point lead at the top of the Premier League when we travel to Aston Villa on Saturday (12.30pm), but the division’s most in-form side stand in our way.
Our opponents head into this match having won six games in a row in all competitions to revitalise their season, turning Villa Park into a fortress having lost just one of their last 25 league encounters on their own turf since we defeated them 2-0 last August.
Indeed, we haven’t won more often at any other Premier League away ground than the 15 triumphs we’ve 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 the pressure on the chasing pack with another big result.
Read more What is Arsenal's longest unbeaten run?
Villa victories piling up
Wednesday’s thrilling 4-3 win at Brighton & Hove Albion perfectly epitomised Villa’s season so far. They began 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 in the Premier League, including four in a row at the expense of Bournemouth, Leeds United, Wolves and the Seagulls. That has seen them top the form table, but more importantly, the Villans have quietly climbed to third position in the standings, just six points behind us at the summit.
Their League Cup adventure ended at the first hurdle on penalties to Brentford, but they have won four of their five Europa League games to also leave them third in that competition, recording home wins over Bologna, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Young Boys as well as a 2-0 triumph at Feyenoord.
What the managers say
Arteta: “[Villa are] a team that is in great form and we know that. We know the manager and the incredible job he’s done there as well, so we know the task tomorrow, but we always take it as an opportunity.
“Every time you win a game, you are a little bit closer to your objective, and it's the only thing that we can do. We have to focus on performing, preparing really well for tomorrow, we know the kind of game that we're going to play and be ready for it to fulfil our potential.” - every word from Mikel’s pre-match press conference
Emery: “We are really happy how we are progressing, how we are competing, how we are getting points, how we are now with the really huge opportunity tomorrow to play against Arsenal – the best team until now. I think they are favourites to win the Premier League because they are performing and competing really fantastically.
“But the preparation, until tomorrow, is firstly rest, because we played two days ago, and we arrived here late on Wednesday. The players will feel a bit tired, not recovering 100%, but we have hours until tomorrow at 12:30 to recover, to rest, to prepare the gameplan."
Team news
Arteta will assess Declan Rice who came off late on against Brentford in midweek with a calf issue, as well as Leandro Trossard and William Saliba who are edging closer to their returns. However Cristhian Mosquera will be out after suffering an ankle injury during 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 select from, although Emiliano Martinez pulled out of the win against Brighton during the warm-up with a back problem and might not be fit to feature against his former club.
The only injury issues Villa are currently juggling include Ross Barkley, who picked up a knee injury against Wolves last weekend and is out for six weeks, while Tyrone Mings will be missing until the new year with a hamstring problem.
Talking tactics
Adrian Clarke: Emery has mostly used a 4-2-3-1 this season, so it would be a surprise if he moves away from that. We do know that his side will be well organised and aggressive, and when we have possession, they will crowd the middle third with bodies. Villa do hold a high line, and that offside trap could be an area we look to target using runs in behind.
Villa have shown a real liking for netting long-range goals in 2025/26 as nine of their 17 league goals have come from outside the box. That’s a division-high, with an impressive 15 per cent of their attempts from distance finding the back of the net. Some of those blockbusters have come from direct free-kicks, so giving fouls away within Morgan Rogers' and Emi Buendia's shooting range might be problematic.
With three goals and three assists, Rogers is unquestionably their dangerman. He has played at No.10 or on the left wing recently so we can’t be sure where he will be deployed, but in the corresponding fixture last season, he showed outstanding power and pace from central areas so my hunch would be that he starts behind Ollie Watkins.
Chance creation has been an issue for our opponents, who rank 15th for expected goals and big chances created, but we must not be fooled by that statistic. Charging up to third in the table, they are playing with lots of self-belief, and they are a seriously tough nut to crack in front of their own fans.
Facts and stats
Since their return to the competition in 2019, Aston Villa have won five of their 12 Premier League games against us, as many as they had in their previous 45 before relegation.
We have lost just one of our last 21 Premier League away games (W11 D9), at Liverpool in August. We are unbeaten in 30 on the road when scoring at least once.
Eight of our last 13 Premier League away goals have been headers, including six of the nine we’ve scored away from home. Meanwhile, four of the last six home league goals Aston Villa have conceded have been headed, including each of the last three in a row.
Since the start of 2020/21, Villa have won nine of their 12 league games kicking off at 12:30pm on a Saturday, although both defeats in this run have come at home to us.
We haven’t conceded more than twice in any of our last 108 games in all competitions, the outright longest run of any team in English football league history, surpassing Manchester United’s 107 between 2016 and 2018.
Bukayo Saka has had a hand in four goals in his last six Premier League appearances 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 games against us, only netting more against Brighton (9).
Read more When Woodcock netted five against Aston Villa
Match officials
Peter Bankes will control the whistle for this fixture, and we have won all of the last four matches he has officiated, with the last being our memorable 5-1 win against Manchester City in February. In fact, we have won eight and lost just one of the 11 Gunners games he has been appointed to.
Villa also enjoyed his presence recently, winning three and drawing one of the four matches he refereed of theirs last term. He has awarded the second-highest amount of penalties in the top-flight this season with four, including one in his last match when he oversaw Man City’s win against Leeds United last weekend.
Referee: Peter BankesAssistants: Eddie Smart, Blake AntrobusFourth official: Adam HerczegVAR: Darren EnglandAssistant VAR: Mark Scholes
Recent 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 venue last term when second-half strikes from Leandro Trossard and Thomas Partey secured the points.
In December 2023 John McGinn’s early effort proved to be the difference between the sides, but the season before, a late flurry of goals saw us claim a 4-2 success, helped by Emiliano Martinez’s own goal and a Gabriel Martinelli strike on the counter-attack. Before then, Bukayo Saka struck the only goal of the game to claim a 1-0 success in March 2022.
Read more Watch five of our very best Villa Park victories
Live coverage
Live From N5 is the place to be for live commentary of all our men’s first-team games across 2025/26.
Tune in from just before kick-off, when Dan Roebuck and Adrian Clarke will once again be behind the mics to guide you through the on-field action.
You can also find out which broadcasters are showing the action live, wherever you are in the world.
Read more How to watch Aston Villa v Arsenal on TV
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