Arsenal v Aston Villa
Arsenal News Arsenal opinion

Confirmed Arsenal team to face Aston Villa – Gabriel partners Saliba

Arsenal take on Aston Villa in a must-win encounter this evening, with the Gunners determined not to slip up again after their defeat in the reverse fixture, and this is the starting eleven announced by the manager.

Arsenal team v Aston Villa

The match arrives at a crucial moment in the title race, with pressure building on Arsenal to deliver another statement performance in front of their supporters.

Arsenal have been one of the strongest teams in the league over the past few seasons and are now widely tipped to finally earn their reward by lifting the league title. Their consistency and improvement have placed them firmly among the favourites, but the margin for error is extremely small. Any dropped points at this stage of the campaign could prove costly.

Aston Villa are among the sides capable of disrupting Arsenal’s ambitions. Under Unai Emery, Villa have become a disciplined and confident team, and the manager always appears especially motivated when facing the Gunners. The Spaniard relishes the opportunity to prove a point whenever he comes up against his former club, and this evening’s match offers him another platform to do so.

Arsenal are fully aware that Manchester City are now uncomfortably close behind them, which only increases the importance of securing all three points. This knowledge places added pressure on the players to perform at their highest level, particularly against a Villa side that has shown it can trouble top opponents.

Villa represent a significant challenge, and overcoming them would provide Arsenal with a major boost in confidence. Defeating such a resilient opponent would reinforce the belief that the Gunners are capable of beating any team they face during the run-in.

Winning eleven consecutive games in all competitions is an achievement reserved for very few sides, highlighting the level Arsenal must reach to avoid disappointment. Villa arrive at the Emirates as a formidable visitor, and the hosts will need to be at their best to avoid being caught out.

One thing that seems certain is that the match will deliver plenty of entertainment. With so much at stake for both teams, the outcome promises to be compelling as the evening unfolds.

______________________________________________________________________
ADMIN COMMENT

So here are some simple rules which I must insist commenters follow….

You agree not to give any personal abuse to other Arsenal fans. Everyone is allowed to hold their own opinions even if you disagree with them. It COSTS NOTHING TO BE POLITE TO OTHER ARSENAL FANS.

CALLING ALL ARSENAL FANS! Anyone who would like to contribute an Article or Video opinion piece on JustArsenal, please contact us through this link…

More Stories / Latest News
Diego Simeone
Diego Simeone speaks with Julian Alvarez about Arsenal interest
Arsenal open talks for England star as Arteta moves to solve defensive headache
dixon
Lee Dixon is sure Arsenal summer signing will do well this season
Posted by

Tags Arsenal v Aston Villa

150 Comments

  1. We get White, Havertz and Jesus back. And then lose Calafiori and Rice. Will we ever get a near fully fit squad.

    You can’t make this stuff up. 🤦‍♂️

  2. And some wonder why we get so many injuries. Playing Timber, Partey and Rice out of position, that first game, all got injured. Rice dod after playing RB. The midfield looks flimsy but the rest of the team looks good enough.

    2. Rice was the best option among our senior players to replace Timber and White at RB, since he is pacier and played longer with his teammates than Norgaard

      1. So, just like Partey, you move him to get injured and what he did with Timber, in his first game for Arsenal on the left? No he wasn’t the best option.

        1. It was too risky to start Norgaard or a youngster at RB. Rice just happened to become unfit after the Brighton game

  3. Arteta seems to use his previous strategy, which is using Gyokeres to tire the opposition’s CBs out, then use Jesus to change the game

    1. Jesus is a long way from looking fit. And he isn’t a center forward. Its good to see Haverz back for an option that works, to a point.

  5. Our main forward has no open play goal since Nov 1st against a relegation side. That needs to change today

      1. we play just fine. Guy of his calibre should do better at anticipating where he is needed in the box.

      2. He was thoroughly serviced in the Brighton game

        We can drop that service excuse now

        Don’t you know a top player just by watching them play – with or without goals ?

        Olivier Giroud uses the ball much better than Gyokeres & his positioning is 10X better than that of Gyokeres

        We can stop the service thing
        The Guy just no good reach

  6. If Norgaard can’t get a start when Rice is out, it makes you wonder when he will. 🤷‍♂️

  7. Gyokeres.

    Trossard. Odegaard. Saka.

    Merino. Zubimendi.

    Hincapie. Gabriel. Saliba. Timber.

    Raya.

    Subs –
    Havertz, Jesus, Martinelli, Eze, Madueke, Norgaard, Skelly, White, Kepa.

    Injured –
    Rice, Calafiori, Mosquera, Downman.

    Dropped –
    Nwaneri.

  8. We still have a very strong squad so if we lose there is something fundamentally wrong. If we want the title we have to win this game. Time to stand up and be counted..

    1. I don’t get

      Man City should have never lost to anyone in the past 4/5 years – as they always had the strongest squad

    2. Totally.There are no more excuses ,if we don’t win tonight we are simply not good enough.

  9. McGinn on the bench? Villa are just planning for the come back knowing they concede first .
    Our man Havertz on the bench stand by to sub Gyokeres who needs to on his toes as his active replacements in Jesus and Havertz are on board.

    1. Aston Villa would likely sit back and try to hit us on the counter, because Rogers and Sancho start on their wings ahead of the slower McGinn

      Gyokeres might only be able to score from a dead ball situation, since Aston Villa might stay deep in their area and leave no space for Gyokeres to run into

  10. ARS v Villa aka The Reckoning

    Either our squad and end-product is better than theirs or its not? Tonight we’ll see.

    Speedy recovery Declan. Happy Return Kai

    OT: The Midlands is better known for its Cricket than for good football teams. Bare it in mind.

  11. I just want to say I feel deep, deep hatred in my heart for Emery and I want to see him and Emi Martinez cry tonight!

  12. Our double pivot midfield of zubi and merino isn’t strong enough but will have to do, someone will need to be constantly joining that midfield (I thinking timber) for it to be solid though I’d have preferred Lewis skelly but he isn’t playing and I don’t think Hincape knows how to do the left full back / left mid field interpolation. Al we need to do is score 3 unreplied goals and let our defence do Thier thing of not concerning more than 2 goals in a match, and we’re good.
    We can do this.
    COYG.

    1. I think Merino will play the left-sided AM role, since a double pivot would likely be pretty useless when the opposition sit back

  14. Besides missing Rice, This lineup plus the bench is really really good. Set pieces will be key, with Merino and Big Gabriel back, also Havertz can later on add to that threat.

    COYG

  15. The fact Villa can go joint top with a win will be a boost to them. We need the hunger tonight to make sure we are top and top alone. Let’s see the hanger and desire. I’m sure it’s there..

  16. We have a very strong team and an amazing bench! And only 4 players injured with 1 being our 15 year old and 1 reserve CB so looking better

  17. It was a good lob from Hincapie. A bigger CF would’ve been able to produce a header on target with that pass

    1. We need to accept that MA is sticking to Gorkares to prove he was worth the money. We all know he’s just struggling to adapt so far. Surely we should start with Jesus?!

      1. Jesus’ technical skills and abilities in tight spaces would’ve been more suitable for this game

        We’re like playing with ten men because of Gyokeres’ deficiencies

        1. Exactly, GAI. Artetas stubbornness to drop Gorkares is not helping us at all! It’s obvious he’s struggling with confidence.

  18. That was a close call due to Gyokeres’ inability to hold the ball. Once Havertz and Jesus become fully fit, I think the Swedish will be benched

  22. The lack of pace in our attack and midfield is allowing villa to push without the fear of pacy counters. Unfortunately with Rice absence who greatly contributes to killing opponent transitions, we needed trossard to control the game and reduce possession losses.

    1. Merino lack of pace is being exploited, he has to push up to keep our structure while pressing but can’t get back when we lose the ball. Helping Villa cut through our midfield easily

      1. ‘Mild’ is an overstatement

        Our attack is too painful to watch, we can play that way for 500 minutes and we wouldn’t score. Over reliant on wings

        Referee is a joke for allowing Martinez to waste 30 secs on each goal kick.

  23. Quick early balls from Villa putting us under pressure and slow laboured build up from us fizzling out.

    1. Have to say, as an attacking team, we suck. No sting and too slow. We need a speedy striker who can get behind defenders.

  25. Our attack operates far too slowly. Another half I didnt need to watch cause it looks the same as all the average performances we’ve been putting together for over a month now. This side looks like it’s out of ideas. We have players on the bench and need to make some changes.

    1. MA’s stubbornness and lack of inventiveness will cost us again this season. Our slow attack and lack of attack will be our downfall. We’re making the same mistakes as always. We should learn to counter like Villa..

  26. Why are these players holding on to the ball for too long? I don’t think this team can win the league playing like this.

  27. Wha does it take to Eze to be in the starting 11? While did we bring in many players in the summer? Arteta does not trust his squad players. Saka can be on the bench while Madueke starts. That is the whole essence of having a bigger squad. Of what use is the squad depth if we keep playing same players week in week out.

  28. Villa players falling and faking injuries every time we find some rhythm and impetus. Martinez acting like he has lost the game in his mind …as he takes a good 5 min for every goal kick he takes. They are there for the taking …I hope we turn on the heating when we come out and spank these clowns 🤡

    1. We are also there for the taking for them

      They’re are connecting and finding each other very well – that’s always how they take games away from their opponents

      Their Second Half displays against Man Utd & Chelsea attests to that

  29. Merino actually well this first half, complimented his lack of pace by trying to block/stop their attack

    But his yellow card will be an issue

    Game so open

    I hope the team knows Villa bring their bullyish A-Game in 2nd halves – this has just been them sizing us up – they’ll come at us vehemently in the 2nd half

    1. Any other sub would be an improvement over Gorkares right now. I don’t blame him i blame MA. It’s time to accept he needs to be benched and improve our chances of success.

      1. I’d blame Berta and Arsenal for signing a CF whose goals were heavily inflated by penalties last season

        They didn’t learn from Pepe’s case

    2. Funnily he’s doing okay

      I just understand how a Striker is not at least being on target with those 2 headers he had

      And there was a square play from Timber that everybody in the world knew the next time for Timber to do is cross/sqare-play
      But our so called Striker wasn’t attacking it

      Just stayed where he was expecting that balls should always be passed to wherever he positioned himself

      Sometimes you anticipate the cross, hide/dummy
      Then attack it immediately your teammate releases it

  31. Unfortunately the ref is weak on villa taking time on goal kicks ect but we would do the same. The funny thing is that we are simply awful and are there for the taking, let’s hope 2nd half we grow some bollocks and a backbone and go on the beat this villa team who play act

  32. I just can’t see us winning this match the way we are playing.Arsenal have been poor for sometime but you can’t keeping playing this way and continue to win and tonight could be that time

  33. Merino, Zubamendi, Gyorkes Odegaard. Too many low energy, slow, non productive players on the park together. Jesus won’t make much of a difference playing with this lot.Arteta is really rolling the dice hery. Good luck to him if he can get away with it.

  34. You can’t haul off Gyokers just yet, it could damage whatever confidence he has left.

    Was hoping we would have started a fresh front three , but Trosaard having a fields day on the left

  51. Loving this, but what a beast Onana is. Without him they are full of holes. Wish he was one of ours.

  53. Get rid of merino as soon as possible, look at that stupid foul,he’s lucky the ref didn’t see the blatant arm held

  54. Merino should be replaced with Norgaard, because of his yellow card and to win more aerial duels in defending corner situations

  64. Masterful! Jesus deserves the love. The issue course, is why can’t we play like this when we need to break teams down?

  65. What a substitution and what a finish from Jesus! Gyokeres has to be benched now, Jesus and Havertz to fight it out for the starting striker role.

    1. Yes Sue. I was quite worried at the start of this match. I wasn’t expecting this score line at all. Longest time Sue. Nice seeing your comment

      1. I’d been nervous all day, Skills (& that was before the Rice news broke!) 🤣 We owed them this and what a way to do it. I thought it’d be 1-0. Nice talking to you, Skills 👍

  72. The scoreline promises to so reassuring …… for the first time Emery and Martinez are reminded since they left us to respect us ……. whatever made their second half so very bad!!

  77. Arsenal players need a good dressing down talk from Arteta on how they decided to finish the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game, not professional for me.

  78. Nothing more at stake, points confirmed but we could have reai turned the screws at kept up the tempo. Still a question mark as to why we get so sloppy in the final minutes.

  80. First half the midfield was overrun and we moved the ball too slooooowww. Second half we played winning football and funnily enough, attacked!!!!! Great from Gab, Ode, Trossard and Raya outstanding.

  82. What a win. Everything went our way today. The injury to Onana was our blessing as he was single handedly dominating our midfield, Merino escaped a red card and Villa missed glaring chances. The return of Gabriel gives the team an upper hand on attacking corner kicks. Odegaard was much forward passing today. Next game we must collect another 3 points no room for slip ups

    1. @SIMBA
      I agree with you about Obama. He was controlling midfield and our guys couldn’t deal with him. Wish we had got him when we had the chance…

    2. The Villa chances in the first half came from transitions and balls into space not from midfield dominance.

  83. As much as we loved the win, Villa will be assessing the “What Ifs”, as in what if Watkins had scored, what if Onana hadn’t got injured, what if Merino had been sent off, and what if the fine margins regarding Trossard’s goal had gone in their favour. Still we played some good football and it was a much better Arsenal win than some of the bore fests we have been subjected to recently.

    2. They could then go back and assess “what ifs” for the reverse fixture and sensibly conclude that they were lucky to get the 3 points off us. They deserved a draw at most

Comments are closed

Top Blog Sponsors