Skip to main content

Arsenal vs Aston Villa: Match preview




I think that it’s fair to say that it’s been a pretty testing week for Arsene Wenger. Out of the FA Cup and pretty much out of the Champions League within a few days, and we cannot afford to fall further behind in the league. A win against Aston Villa is vital to lift the team spirit before 3 tough games against Spurs, Everton & Bayern Munich.
Being at home is not exactly a big advantage for Arsenal at the moment. We were at the Emirates against Blackburn in the FA Cup & against Bayern on Tuesday. The home crowd really need to get behind the team on Saturday & hope that we come out all guns blazing. No more slow first halves. No more booing.
Christian Benteke, who has scored 6 goals in his last 5 games, is definitely one to watch. However, the fact remains that Villa are in 17th in the league and should be beaten without too much trouble. Here’s hoping.

Team news:

Arsenal

  • Bacary Sagna has been ruled out with a knee injury, but Carl Jenkinson returns from suspension. 
  • Kieran Gibbs is still out with an thigh injury.
  • Nacho Monreal returns to the squad, having been ineligible to play against Bayern Munich. 

Aston Villa

  • Gabby Agbonlahor and Karim El Ahmadi should return to the Villa squad having missed the last game against West Ham through illness. 
  • Charles N’Zogbia, Chris Herd, Mark Albrighton, Gary Gardener, Richard Dunne and Stiliyan Petrov are all out. 

Match facts/Head to head stats

  • Villa have beaten us twice at the Emirates, in 2008 & 2011. Other than these 2 losses, we are undefeated in 26 of the last 28 matches against Aston Villa in all competitions.
  • We have won only two of the last six home games against Aston Villa in the Premier League.
  • Villa have had more yellow cards than any other Premier League team this season (54), but Arsenal have been shown the fewest (24).

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Battle for Pride of London

Arsenal vs Chelsea Preview Arsenal will tomorrow face Chelsea in Super Sunday’s 1.30pm kick off. Chelsea have released a statement saying the game will be going ahead for the time being as long as there is not much more snow but have warned those attending to allow extra time for their journey to Stamford Bridge. Both teams will be looking to get back to winning ways, with both London clubs dropping points over the last few weeks. Arsenal will want to get back on track after losing 2-0 to Manchester City, whilst Chelsea lost a 2 goal lead against Southampton a few days ago. In terms of players who will miss the game, Chelsea will be without Nigerian pair John Obi Mikel and Victor Moses, who are at the African Cup of Nations tournament. Whilst they welcome back Terry, Ba and Torres to full fitness. Arsenal have more problems with Gervinho, Arteta, and Rosicky all missing this game. I think we could see a line-up of; Szczesny Sagna Mertesacker Vermaelen Gibbs Diaby Wilsher...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arsenal Vs Bayern Munich Preview

 Champions League – Round of 16  Arsenal vs Bayern Munich  Tuesday 19th February, 2013, at    19:45 UK Time  Emirates Stadium, London, England Daunting Task For Gunners Arsenal continue their search for a first Champions League crown knowing that their best hope of lifting the trophy is to finish in England’s top four and start again next year. Defeat to Blackburn on Saturday means their FA Cup hopes are over for this year, and seemingly, the club’s last realistic chance of silverware.  This has been an inconsistent season for Arsenal and they have not been their usual selves even in Europe, where they are traditionally strong in the group stage. The last German side to visit the Emirates Stadium, Schalke, ended a long unbeaten run at home in Europe for Arsenal. Bayern Munich, who thrashed Schalke at the weekend and are out of sight at the top of the Bundesliga, appear to present a formidable task which it is hard to see the Premie...
Post a Comment
Read more

Arsenal Down, But By No Means Out.

The beautiful game of football has once again shown how quickly things can change. After being knocked out of the FA cup by a non Premier League side (Blackburn Rovers) and being humbled at the hands of European giants Bayern Munich,  Arsenal 's average showing continued with a loss to their North London Rivals, Tottenham Hotspur. After this latest setback, even manager Arsene Wenger was quick to acknowledge the harsh reality facing the club “It will be a massive challenge, massive. I said before the game we couldn't drop these points today and I maintain that after the game. Especially the way the game went, it is difficult to understand how we can lose games like that.” The importance of the next ten games for Arsenal cannot be understated. The Gunners have only two of the top seven teams yet to be played (against Everton &  Manchester United ) both of which are at the Emirates. A similar run like last season (7 games unbeaten) would be required for Arsenal to have...
Post a Comment
Read more