Arsenal vs Aston Villa LIVE: Premier League result, final score and reaction tonight
Follow all the latest updates from the Emirates as 12th-place Arsenal host 13th-place Aston Villa in the opening game of the Premier League weekend
Arsenal are hosting Aston Villa this evening at the Emirates as the Gunners looks to carry forwards the momentum from Monday’s last-gasp equaliser against Crystal Palace. Alexandre Lacazette came off the bench to pinch a 2-2 draw, and although it was far from the Gunners’ best performance, there were positives to take as Mikel Arteta’s team extended their unbeaten run in the league to five games, having lost all of their opening three.
Villa have endured the opposite trend with back-to-back defeats, including a dramatic late goal which saw Wolves complete a thrilling comeback to win 3-2 against their West Midlands rivals. It means Dean Smith’s side are now 13th coming into this fixture, one place and one point behind Arsenal in the Premier League table.
The build-up to the game saw Arteta asked about his young midfielder Emile Smith Rowe, who Aston Villa enquired about in the summer. “Any club has the right to make an inquiry about a player when they believe they have the financial power to get him, they’re entitled to,” Arteta said on Friday. “So there was a communication between the clubs and we made it really clear that Emile wasn’t for sale. He’s a big part of what we’re trying to do and our future. He’s really happy where he is and I’m delighted to have him.”
Follow all the action from the Emirates below, live.
John McGinn targeting three points against Arsenal
Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn believes his team can take three points away from the Emirates this evening after having success in the last three meetings against the Gunners. He said:
It was a massive win when we played there last season and a great performance. I enjoy playing there and you always hear a racket from the Villa fans, so I’m looking forward to seeing them back at the Emirates.
“Friday Night Football is my favourite. The atmosphere will be brilliant under the lights and it’s important we put in another good performance.
“We’re going to these places and giving these teams a fright, so it’s about us getting the three points. No matter if it’s the first minute or the 80th minute, it’s about taking our chances and being clinical.”
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Aston Villa are winless in 12 top-flight away fixtures played on a Friday since a 4-1 victory at Charlton in April 1950. They’ve drawn three and lost nine of those games.
Villa have lost five of their last eight away league games, as many as they had in their previous 17. They could lose three consecutive Premier League matches for the first time since June to July last year.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Arsenal have only lost one of their last six home league fixtures, earning 13 points from those games. They are on a five-match unbeaten league run after having lost their opening three games of the season.
A fifth Premier League home defeat of 2021 would be their most in a calendar year since losing six times at Highbury in 1997.
Tierney out with injury
Kieran Tierney is out of tonight’s game with a bruised ankle meaning that Nuno Tavares makes his full Premier League debut for the Gunners.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta insists abuse has managers questioning futures
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has revealed the kind of abuse suffered by Steve Bruce has seen both prospective and current managers tell him they would now think twice about taking a job.
Bruce was sacked by Newcastle on Wednesday before detailing the level of abuse he and his family had suffered during his two-year stint in the north-east.
Mikel Arteta insists abuse has managers questioning futures
The Arsenal manager was saddened by the comments aimed at Steve Bruce before his departure from Newcastle.
Head-to-head: Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Aston Villa have won three successive Premier League games against Arsenal, as many as they had in their previous 36 attempts. It’s 59 years since Villa last earned four straight league victories in this fixture.
Arsenal have lost four of the 10 league meetings at the Emirates Stadium. The Gunners have only been defeated more often at the stadium by Manchester City (5) and Chelsea (6).
Smith on Arsenal
Dean Smith spoke about the prospect of facing Arsenal tonight saying his players can take heart from their recent performances. He said:
People were saying they were in crisis after the first three games of the season and that was with a Covid-19 outbreak in their camp for the first game and games against the league champions and European champions.
“They’ve come back as we all suspected they would. They’ve drawn the last couple of games, so we can take some heart in that.
“We can also take some heart from what we’ve done in the last month in our last four or five games. They’re the ones that I have to judge us by in terms of our performances.”
Team changes - Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Mikel Arteta makes three changes to the team that lined up against Crystal Palace on Monday night. Kieran Tierney, Martin Odegaard and Nicolas Pepe drop out and are replaced with Nuno Tavares, Sambi Lokonga and Alexandre Lacazette.
For Aston Villa Dean Smith names an unchanges starting XI meaning Emi Martinez returns to the Emirates in goal for the visitors.
Line-ups: Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Arsenal XI: Ramsdale, Tomiyasu, White, Gabriel, Tavares, Lokonga, Partey, Saka, Smith Rowe, Aubameyang, Lacazette
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Tuanzebe, Konsa, Mings, Cash, Douglas Luiz, McGinn, Targett, Buendia, Ings, Watkins
Arteta on Aston Villa
Mikel Arteta says his team know what they have to do to get a victory against Aston Villa tonight despite losing the last three meetings with the midlands team. He told Arsenal.com:
We play at home. We know the type of game we need to play to beat them [Aston Villa], and our focus is only that,
“It is a test and they have shown how difficult they can be against us, because we haven’t got the results that we wanted against them recently.
“So we know they have improved their squad, the way they have played a lot in the last few seasons they are showing a lot of ambition the way they are recruiting as well, and it will be a difficult game for sure.”
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