Arsenal and Aston Villa have a date at the Emirates Stadium for this important Premier League match day 22 clash in January 2025.

The Gunners have been superb all through the past three seasons and they are one of the sides challenging for the Premier League titles. As for Aston Villa, they shocked many to book their spot in the UCL last season, but they have been inconsistent this term.

Arsenal are currently 3rd in the Premier League table with 36 points from 18 games (with a match tonight), while the Villans have 29 points from 19 games and they are placed 9th in the table. Mikel Arteta’s side are strong at home and they will be keen to keep that form going against one of the sides that did beat them at the Emirates last season. 

One thing Arteta’s side have done this present season is their ability to adapt in difficult situations. The team showed character to take all three points in the reverse fixture at Tottenham and were denied by a late goal at Manchester City. They also have wins against the likes of Aston Villa, Southampton, Leicester City, and Wolves in their opening seven games of the campaign. A slight blip around October and November saw them drop points against Liverpool and Chelsea via stalemates, while Newcastle beat them at St. James’ Park. 

In Europe, they stuttered a bit, but have recovered well to mount a challenge in the competition. It was an impressive display at Sporting Lisbon that got them back on track after a defeat to Inter and a draw with Atalanta on the road. The Gunners currently sit comfortably in the table.

On the other hand, Unai Emery’s Aston Villa were busy during the transfer window as they got the likes of Amadou Onana from Everton, Ian Maatsen from Chelsea, Ross Barkley from relegated Luton Town, Cameron Archer from Sheffield United, Lewis Dobbin from Everton, Jaden Philogene from Hull City, and the duo of Samuel Iling-Junior and Enzo Barrenechea from Juventus. 

In return, they had to let go the likes of Moussa Diaby leaving for Al-Ittihad in Saudi Arabia, Douglas Luiz to Juventus, Morgan Sanson to OGC Nice, Tim Iroegbunam to Everton, Calum Chambers to Cardiff City, while Philippe Coutinho and Filip Marschall left on loan for Vasca da Gama and Crewe Alexandra respectively.

On the pitch, Villa started the season well, doing pretty well in Europe and at home. In the Premier League, the Villans won three of their opening four games of the season, losing to only Arsenal during the run. 

It was their only defeat of the season until they lost to Liverpool and Tottenham in November. Overall, they are ranked 9th on the Premier League log with 29 points to their name. Similarly, they also started well in Europe and currently sit in 5th place (of 36 teams) after 6 games The Birmingham club beat Young Boys and Bayern Munich in their first two games of the UCL. After that famous win over the German giants, Unai Emery said; “I’m very happy for our supporters and everyone at Aston Villa – coaches, owners, supporters, workers – to share days like today, playing at this level in the Champions League against Bayern Munich and winning.”

Aston Villa have become more inconsistent as the season has progressed. They surprisingly lost to Club Brugge in their match day four UCL clash and they were held to a goalless draw by Juve on match day five in the UCL. In the league, Villa have won twice times out of their last 5 EPL games. Meanwhile, Arsenal have won 21 times in their past 35 meetings with Aston Villa.

Match tickets

This match at The Emirates in London kicks off on Saturday 18th January 2025, at 17:30 GMT. 

The 60,704-capacity stadium is the place for this clash between the Gunners and the Birmingham outfit.

Getting Arsenal v Aston Villa tickets could take a lot of work given the standard of this game. Hence, you are advised to search ticket reselling sites should they be expectedly sold out on each club’s channels. 

Team news

Line-ups

Mikel Arteta and his team are quite strong at home and the manager has a good number of his stars available. Utility Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey, and Dutch defender Jurrien Timber could feature in this game. Skipper Martin Odegaard and Decland Rice should again retain their spots in the team with Kai Havertz leading the line. Bukayo Saka is out injured.

Arsenal XI: David Raya; Jurien Timber, Gabriel, William Saliba, Riccardo Calafiori; Kai Havertz,  Declan Rice, Thomas Partey; Gabriel Martinelli, Martin Odegaard, Gabriel Jesus.

Unai Emery’s men started the season on a fine note, but they have struggled a bit in recent weeks and it has not been a great December for them in all competitions. Diego Carlos, Lucas Digne, Matty Cash, Robin Olsen, and John McGinn have been in and out of the team this term, but some should be available for this clash. In addition, Tyronne Mings, who has just returned from a long-term injury, could be available for this visit. All things being equal, Emiliano Martinez is expected to remain in goal, while Ollie Watkins and Jhon Duran (who returns from suspension from 15th Jan as does Morgan Rogers) should be key in the final third for the Villans.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, McGin, Onana, Tielemans, Bailey, Rogers, Watkins.

Prediction

Arsenal have set high standards for themselves in the past couple of seasons and they know that there is no time for slip-ups. At the Emirates, they are difficult to play against and this Villa side should be beaten at the end of 90 minutes. It is a big game, so getting your Arsenal tickets early is important.

Unai Emery’s Aston Villa typically adopt high defensive lines in an attempt to defend away from goal. They press aggressively looking to minimize spaces between the lines and thriving off transitional attacks. 

Arsenal lost to Villa at the Emirates last season, but considering the current form of both teams, the Gunners should prevail this time around. 

Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa