Aston Villa's huge Arsenal challenge, Maatsen preferred to Digne, McGinn hails Konsa and Emery wins in Arteta comparison
Aston Villa claimed their 11th successive win against Chelsea on Saturday night
Aston Villa claimed their 11th successive win against Chelsea on Saturday night
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Aston Villa have a club record in their sights, but there couldn’t be a tougher challenge awaiting them on Tuesday night.
A trip to Premier League leaders Arsenal awaits Villa, who have the chance to claim a 12th successive victory in all competitions.
Having equalled a club record of 11 wins in a row - last set 111 years ago - Unai Emery’s side can move level on points with the Gunners this midweek if they manage to continue their remarkable winning streak.
Coming into the game on the back of a win at Chelsea, Villa have now come from behind to win each of their last six away league games, also beating Tottenham, Leeds United, Brighton and West Ham during that run.
Huge Arsenal challenge awaits
Resilience has been a key feature of Villa’s turnaround in form over the last three months, and even with injuries to key players including Pau Torres and Tyrone Mings, they’ve managed to sustain their momentum.
Beating Arsenal will be a huge challenge, especially considering Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash will both be suspended after collecting their fifth bookings of the season against Chelsea.
Villa, however, won’t be carrying the pressure - that will fall on Arsenal instead. It’s too early to say whether Emery’s side can genuinely challenge for the title, but most would expect the Gunners to be up there with Manchester City.
If, by the turn of the New Year, Arsenal’s lead has been cut completely - or indeed they’re no longer top of the table - that would represent a significant psychological blow.
Arsenal have lost three of their last five Premier League matches against Emery’s team, and Villa could complete a league double over them for the third time in six seasons (also 2020–21 and 2023–24). Before that, they had only once previously achieved the feat in the competition, in 1992–93.
Villa also have a strong record at the Emirates, going unbeaten in their last two league games there - winning 2–0 in April 2024 and drawing 2–2 in January last season. They last enjoyed a longer unbeaten run at the stadium between 2006–07 and 2008–09 (three games).
This will be Emery’s third away Premier League match at the Emirates since leaving Arsenal. He has so far won one and drawn one with Villa. No former Gunners boss has ever gone three away league games in a row without losing after leaving the club.
Maatsen preferred to Digne
Emery will be forced into a couple of changes, with Kamara and Cash suspended, but there may also be scope for alterations elsewhere in the team.
Ollie Watkins will be expected to replace Donyell Malen as the striker, while at left-back it will be interesting to see whether Ian Maatsen continues ahead of Lucas Digne.
The Dutchman has started each of Villa’s last five league matches, while Digne last started against Wolves - the match after Leeds, where he was replaced by Maatsen at half-time.
Both left-backs offer very different profiles. Maatsen is quick and eager to attack the bye-line, while Digne prefers to deliver quality from deeper positions.
This is reflected in the numbers: Maatsen has produced double the progressive carries per 90 minutes compared to Digne this season, while also making 3.68 passes into the final third per 90 compared to the Frenchman’s 2.21.
Maatsen has also completed 3.24 take-ons per 90, compared to Digne’s 0.80, while boasting a 54.5% success rate - 32% higher than Digne’s.
Defensively, Maatsen has also made more tackles, faced more dribblers and made more clearances per 90 than Digne.
Claret & Blue catch-up
McGinn hails Konsa
One position that certainly isn’t in question in Villa’s defence is right centre-back, where Ezri Konsa continues to perform at a level that makes him a strong candidate to start for England at this summer’s World Cup.
Konsa has now made 214 Premier League appearances for Villa, overtaking Ashley Young earlier this month to become the club’s 10th-highest appearance maker in the competition.
John McGinn is the only current squad member to have made more appearances for Villa than Konsa, and the skipper hopes he continues to rack up the games in claret and blue.
“Hopefully he stays here for a long time. He has been going under the radar for years and has been performing like this for years,” McGinn said on Sky Sports.
“I think if you asked any striker who plays against him they would say that he is quick, strong, good on the ball, and aggressive. He has got everything you need to be a top centre-back.
“Thomas Tuchel has obviously noticed that and he is pretty much first choice centre-back at the moment for England. He is a big leader and character in the dressing room, and certainly one of the best defenders I have ever played with.
“He’s not underrated for us. It’s the same for Bouba Kamara. When I see the France squad I look and think, ‘surely Bouba, surely Bouba’. But he never seems to get picked.”
Emery better than Arteta
Back to Tuesday’s showdown, former Villa left-back Stephen Warnock has made his feelings clear on the Emery vs Arteta debate.
With a number of trophies already under his belt, Warnock insists that Emery is the superior manager of the two, arguing that Arteta is yet to demonstrate an extended period of success in his managerial career.
"I think Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta are completely different, if I'm being honest. The only similarities I see is that they're Spanish and passionate,” Warnock told aceodds.com.
“When I look at them tactically and how they like to set teams up and how they play, I think they've got two different styles of football. I think both of them are meticulous.
"When you look at Unai Emery and what he's achieved. He's a serial winner in the Europa League. We know his qualities. At the moment, for me, he's the superior manager because he's got a different budget than Mikel Arteta.
"If you look at the money that Mikel Arteta has spent in recent years and what he's been able to do at Arsenal, but the revenue streams are also different for Arsenal. When Unai Emery went to Arsenal, it was a massive ask to follow Arsene Wenger and he found life difficult.
“But he didn't have the control that Mikel Arteta has at Arsenal. He still did incredibly well at Arsenal. People forget his record at Arsenal.
"Both brilliant managers in their own right. Mikel Arteta, the next question for him is that can he get the Premier League over the line, or can he get a Champions League title, which will elevate his status as a manager. Emery has done that to a certain degree with the Europa League wins. Both brilliant managers."
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