Five classic Arsenal v Villa encounters

Five classic Arsenal v Villa encounters

Arsenal take on Aston Villa coming off the back of two draws against Crystal Palace and Brighton.
They weren't great results, and while a clean sheet against Brighton was a positive sign, the last thing the Gunners needed was to make several defensive errors in the very next game.
Mikel Arteta needs a win in one of the most historic and prestigious games in England football.
However, a win isn't guaranteed, and all Arsenal fans can be sure of is that they're in for another 90 minutes of fascinating Premier League action this Friday.

Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa (April 2006)

Arsenal's 2005/06 squad may not have won any silverware, but on paper, it was an exciting squad with some incredible flair throughout the side.
38,183 fans crammed into Highbury to watch Thierry Henry and Co pull David O'Leary's side apart in savage fashion.
Emmanuel Adebayor's header and Henry's sublime lob made it 2-0 before the break.
The French wizard made it three with a curling effort after half-time before a young Robin Van Persie fired in a fourth from an acute angle.
Abou Diaby topped off a perfect afternoon in North London with Arsenal's fifth.

Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa (February 2015)

Another 5-0 win for the Gunners, even if the squad wasn't quite as great in 2015 as it was in 2006.
There were still some great players in the Arsenal line-up that day, with Mesut Özil, Santi Cazorla, and Laurent Koscielny included in the starting 11.
Cazorla and Ozil were both superb, notching five goals and assists between the two of them.
Goals from Olivier Giroud, Theo Walcott, and Hector Bellerin added to Ozil and Cazorla's goals.

Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal (November 2010)

Arsenal put in a superb performance in the 2010/11 season's away trip to Villa Park.
Sat second in the table at the time, it appeared as if Arsenal would be genuine title contenders, and the performance reflected that.
Andrey Arshavin cut in from the left to fire in a shot, and Samir Nasri's excellent volley put the Gunners 2-0 up.
Ciaran Clark gave Villa hope with an 18-yard strike, although Marouane Chamakh's poked shot appeared to have handed the Gunners the victory.
Clark's second set up a tense finish in Birmingham, but Jack Wilshere's injury-time header secured all three points.

Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa (December 2001)

This was another case of Henry inspiring Arsenal to victory.

He scored two goals from short range to rescue a win for Wenger's side.

Paul Merson and Steve Stone put Villa ahead, but the Gunners were untouchable after the break, and Sylvain Wiltord got a goal for the Gunners before Henry completed the comeback.

This game is proof that Wenger's Arsenal sides didn't just have quality, they had a lot of heart as well.

Arsenal 3-2 Aston Villa (September 2019)

The final game in this list is also the most recent to be included.
Arsenal may not have the same quality in their side as they had in 2006, but the Gunners are still very capable of putting on a great game with Villa.
In 2019, Arsenal defied the odds to beat Villa 3-2 despite being reduced to ten men.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles was sent off in the first half after John McGinn flicked home Anwar El Ghazi's cross, but Nicolas Pepe's first goal for the club made it 1-1.
Wesley restored Villa's lead before goals from Calum Chambers and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang put Arsenal ahead in the closing stages to secure a late victory.

Photo Credit: Getty Images 

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