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.
Dean Smith on Villa’s loss to Wolves
Aston Villa manager Dean Smith says his team didn’t collapse against Wolves despite letting in three goals in the last 10 minutes plus stoppage time. Smith added that luck played a part but he was happy with Villa’s overall performance. He said:
“I’ve played Wolves five times as a manager and that’s the most comfortable I’ve been in a game against them. We probably didn’t deserve to be two goals up, but a goal up at least.
“It wasn’t a collapse. We had to defend a couple of soft free-kicks and corners and we won the first contact on most. Sometimes there’s a randomness in football that can happen. After the second goal, we were the team that looked likely to score the winner.
“There was some fortune in their winner – a free-kick that’s going wide and deflects in. You get what you deserve over a season and we didn’t get what we deserved over that one game.
“On the whole, I was pleased with parts of our game.”
Premier League standings - Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Both these teams have the chance to move into the top 10 if they pick up three points tonight. They’re only separated by one place with Arsenal (12th) a point above Aston Villa (13th).
Whoever wins will move up to 9th and Arsenal can draw level with Everton, West Ham and Manchester United ahead of the weekend’s fixtures.
Recent results - Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Arsenal are unbeaten in five Premier League games with three draws and two wins coming during that run. Last time out Alexandre Lacazette rescued a point for the Gunners with a 95th minute equaliser against Crystal Palace to end the game 2-2. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang opened the scoring for Arsenal with his third goal in as many home games.
Meanwhile Aston Villa are looking to bounceback from a heartbreaking loss to Wolves. Villa were two goals up with 10 minutes to play at Villa Park but Romain Saiss, Conor Coady and Ruben Neves all found the back of the net before the final whistle to sink the home side. Manager Dean Smith couldn’t believe what he was watching as his team squandered the chance to pick up three points.
Early team news - Arsenal vs Aston Villa
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta says he has fitness concerns about “two or three” unnamed players.
One we do know about is Bukayo Saka who limped off the pitch during Arsenal’s match against Crystal Palace and will be assessed before the game.
Leon Bailey and Bertrand Traore have both recovered from thigh injuries to make themselves available for Aston Villa and Matty Cash is fit to start after being subbed off against Wolves with a dead leg.
Match preview
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.”
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