Aston Villa vs Arsenal: will the Gunners keep up fine run against Villa?
A look ahead to the Premier League fixture at Villa Park
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Gabriel Agbonlahor: Having scored in all of his previous 10 Premier League campaigns with Aston Villa, the Englishman doesn’t look like scoring this term. Villa are the lowest scoring side in the league despite the efforts of Rudy Gestede and Jordan Ayew, who have been the most encouraging in an otherwise misfiring front line. Agbonlahor’s first Premier League goal since March is unlikely to come against Arsenal’s Petr Cech, who has conceded less than a goal per game this season.
Best stat…
3: Villa have won just three of 31 Premier League meetings with Arsenal since the turn of the millennium. Remarkably, they defeated Arsenal three times successively at the start of the Premier League era.
Remember when…
Robert Pires had the audacity to lob Peter Schmeichel at Villa Park in 2002…
Player to watch…
Olivier Giroud: A fine hat-trick rescued Arsenal from the clenches of the Europa League on Wednesday night. Giroud dips in and out of favour at the Emirates as frequently as his manager; answering the doubters by repeating his hattrick feat against a dilapidated Aston Villa would be typical of the Frenchman. Four goals in his last two matches have muted recent criticism.
Past three meetings…
Aston Villa 0 Arsenal 3 (Ozil, Welbeck, Cissokho), Premier League, September 2014
Arsenal 5 (Giroud, Ozil, Walcott, Cazorla, Bellerin) Aston Villa 0, Premier League, February 2015
Arsenal 4 (Walcott, Sanchez, Mertesacker, Giroud) Aston Villa 0, FA Cup, May 2015
Form guide…
Aston Villa: LLDLLD
Arsenal: DLWDWW
Vital information…
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