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By Oli Dickson Jefford Arsenal play Aston Villa tonight as the Gunners look to maintain their unbeaten start to the Premier League season. Mikel Arteta’s side are the only team to win every match so far and are significant favourites against a stuttering Villa side. Villa have won only one match so far, losing the other three, and have been on a poor run of form across this season and last. However, Steven Gerrard’s squad features a significant number of quality players - some of whom have been linked to Arsenal in the past. Here are four players that Arsenal could consider  poaching from Villa Park  in the near future. Tyrone Mings A key talking point this season has been Tyrone Mings’ rather unceremonious dumping as Villa captain. The England international has also been benched a couple of times by Gerrard, with rumours circulating that all is not well between the two. Mings is widely considered one of the best defenders outside of the ‘Big Six’ and previously there have bee...

Will Aston Villa be a threat to Arsenal’s European hunt next season?  By James Reid For a while it felt as if the so-called top six were impenetrable in the Premier League.  However, recent seasons have seen a group of clubs launch an assault on that idea, with the likes of Leicester City and West Ham qualifying for Europe and posing a considerable threat to the prevailing orthodoxy.  While the gap between the top two and everyone else feels to be getting bigger, there are a number of clubs closing the gap between sixth and mid-table.  One of those clubs could well be Aston Villa. While the midlands side had a disappointing 2021/22 season, they showed plenty of promise at times under new manager Steven Gerrard and will certainly be looking to improve on their 14 th -placed finish.  Many fancied Villa to threaten the European places last season after recruiting well having sold Jack Grealish but it never really came together.  Nevertheless, there is undoubte...

Four Aston Villa players Arsenal should try to sign  By Matt Wright Arsenal’s hopes of qualifying for next season’s Champions League hit a bump in the road on Wednesday night, following a 2-0 defeat against Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.  The fact that the Gunners went into the game in fourth ahead of Manchester United, with three games in hand, meant the match against Jurgen Klopp’s in-form side felt like a free hit.  Yes, it was a setback, but it was not the only opportunity this week for Arsenal to put clear daylight between themselves and those chasing them for a place in European football’s premier competition.  We were given a reminder of how good Liverpool are at the moment, and Mikel Arteta’s young bucks will come up against one of the great players from their past when they face Aston Villa on Saturday lunchtime.  It has been up-and-down for the Villains since Steven Gerrard replaced Dean Smith as manager in November. Their league position of ninth ...

Arsenal 3-1 Aston Villa review By Jack Lacey-Hatton After a difficult night to start to the week against Crystal Palace on Monday, Arsenal found top gear under the lights to ease past Aston Villa. In one of the best displays of the season so far, goals from Thomas Partey, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the impressive Emile Smith-Rowe sealed a 3-1 win. Here’s the review of the action from Friday night at the Emirates Stadium.   Finding consistency A 3-1 victory over Dean Smith’s Villains meant it is now seven games unbeaten in all competitions for Arsenal. The draws against Brighton and Palace either side of the international break did understandably leave some fans frustrated that precious points were being wasted. But keeping up an unbeaten run when not at your best is an important trait for any Premier League side chasing European football. Yet they roared back to form against Villa with a storming first half, dominating possession and forcing the opposition into m...

Arsenal v Aston Villa preview By Oscar Maung Haley With Arsenal welcoming Aston Villa to the Emirates this week, we take a look at how the Friday night Premier League action could unfold. Emiliano Martinez returns to the Emirates A lot was made of Arsenal’s decision to sell Emiliano Martinez to Aston Villa after his stellar spell between the sticks at the back end of the 2019/20 Premier League campaign. Martinez has seen his stock rise tremendously over the last two years, with the Villa shot stopper now having nailed down the Argentina no.1 jersey full time. His heroics this summer saw him produce a string of impressive performances for Argentina, helping them to claim Copa America glory. Last season, he also helped Aston Villa to an impressive 3-0 away win at the Emirates. And Friday night will see Martinez return to the Emirates for the first time with fans in attendance following the COVID hit 2021/20 campaign. The 29-year-old has certainly been outspoken on his time in north L...

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 w...

                                    After another defeat to Aston Villa for Arsenal, has Mikel Arteta learned from his mistakes from earlier in the Premier League season? By Adam Le Roux This feels like Groundhog Day. Sat here ripping apart another Arsenal defeat to Aston Villa, where the Gunners didn’t look worthy of taking a point from Dean Smith’s side, let alone all three. Watching the match on Saturday felt just like watching the match on November 8, where Jack Grealish, Ross Barkley and Ollie Watkins toyed with Mikel Arteta’s side, like three older kids playing with their brothers at the park. Many Gooners would have gone into the weekend feeling confident of a reaction from their side after the horror-show against Wolves in midweek, but it wouldn’t have taken long for that hope to be dashed. As has so often been the case this season, Arsenal were manufacturers of their own downfall once agai...

FA Cup finals and 3-2 thrillers: Five great matches between Arsenal and Aston Villa in the Premier League By Adam Le Roux Arsenal travel to Villa Park this Saturday looking to respond from the horror show against Wolves on Tuesday night, slumping to a 2-1 defeat and finishing the game with just nine men on the pitch. You don’t have to go too far back for the last time the Gunners went head to head with Villa, as Dean Smith’s side rampaged their way to a 3-0 win at the Emirates thanks to Bukayo Saka’s own goal and Ollie Watkins’ double. In what has been a largely forgettable season for Arsenal to date, that humbling at home from the Villans was one of the lowest ebbs, as Jack Grealish and Ross Barkley had the Arsenal defence on tenterhooks throughout. But it hasn’t been all doom and gloom for the Gunners against Villa in the past, with many a fine victory coming against the boys in claret and blue in recent history, so let’s take a trip down memory lane to reminisce on five of the all-t...