Aston Villa (a)

Revenge is the word of the week as we head to Villa Park for tomorrows 5:30pm kick off.

Last Season
An early John McGinn goal proved decisive as Villa took a 1-0 win. The game had its controversies. A clear penalty was ignored after Jesus was felled in the box and then we fell foul of the strange handball laws. A last minute goal was ruled out as, despite Matty Cash using his arm first, the ball touched Kai Havertz arm before he netted.
Villa then won the reverse fixture at the Emirates, which ultimately cost us the title.

Last Week
Both sides had decent victories on day 1. Arsenal beat Wolves 2-0 at the Emirates thanks to Saka and Havertz combining to score and assist a goal each.
Villa went to the Olympic Stadium and new signing Amadou "Andre's not even my name mate" Onana netted early. A soft penalty let West Ham equalise before substitute Jhon Duran won the game late on.

Teams
Arsenal aren't expected to make any changes, but left back and left attack the talking points. Vieira is back in training, so competition for bench places increases.
Villa risked a half fit Ollie Watkins against the Hammers, and with an extra week of training he should be better prepared. Their new midfield of Tielemans, Onana, McGinn, Rogers and Bailey looked good. Emery has valued his full backs, but is apt to switch them around. Cash and Digne started last week but Maatsen and Nedeljkovic both came on. Emery also used his bench to push for the win, with Duran, Ramsey and Philogene all contributing to the winner.

The 'keeper
Emi Martinez kept two clean sheets against us last season, but hasn't always had the best of fortune against his old club. His record against us is played 8, won 4 lost 4. Every win has been with a clean sheet, twice in his first season after leaving us and twice last year. He has conceded 10 in the 4 defeats though. Not many of his ex-Arsenal team-mates are still around, only Saka, Nelson, Nketiah and the injured outcast Tierney surviving from the team that won Martinez the FA Cup in 2020.



We have a very tough start to the season, with Brighton, Spurs and City all coming up either side of the international break. A win tomorrow would be massive even at this early stage of the season.

It should be a very interesting week for Arsenal. As well as Villa tomorrow, the CL league fixtures are drawn out on Thursday and the transfer window shuts on Friday, with Arsenal still having work to do.