Arsenal will welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates on match week 33, five games until the end of the 2023/24 Premier League season. The Gunners have been quite solid in 2024 and will need to keep that momentum going if they still fancy a title win, while the Villans are looking to return to Europe next season.
Arsenal FC experienced a flurry of activity during the summer transfer window, witnessing significant player departures and notable acquisitions. Long-time servant Granit Xhaka departed for Bayer Leverkusen in the German Bundesliga, while Folarin Balogun moved to Monaco, goalkeeper Matt Turner to Nottingham Forest, Pablo Mari to Monza in the Italian Serie A, and Rob Holding to Crystal Palace. Several players also went out on loan, with Kieran Tierney joining Real Sociedad, Nuno Tavares to Nottingham Forest, and promising winger Marquinhos to FC Nantes.
Nicolas Pépé, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, and Sambi Lonkonga left on free transfers, finding new homes at Trabzonspor, Olympique Lyon, and Luton Town, respectively.
On the recruitment front, Arsenal made prominent signings, including Declan Rice from West Ham, Kai Havertz from London rivals Chelsea, Jurrien Timber from Ajax Amsterdam, and the current number-one goalkeeper David Raya on loan from Brentford.
On the pitch, Arsenal made a fine start to the season beating Nottingham Forest 2-1 at home before going ahead to beat Crystal Palace 1-0 at Selhurst Park with a strong defensive display. A spirited 2-2 home draw with Fulham then a run of consecutive wins over Manchester United and Everton before a 4-0 win in the UEFA Champions League over PSV.
Upon return to the Premier League, Arsenal drew 2-2 with Spurs before another run of three consecutive Premier League wins over Brentford, Bournemouth, and champions Manchester City.
Arsenal’s first defeat of the campaign came at the hands of Newcastle in controversial circumstances. Meanwhile, the Gunners embarked on a run of six consecutive wins in all competitions before a second loss of the season to Aston Villa. Despite dominating that game in Villa Park, the Gunners could not find a way past Unai Emery’s side and do have a chance to inflict revenge in this important clash. As of the time of writing, Arsenal are on a run of five consecutive wins in the Premier League with massive wins over Liverpool, West Ham, and Burnley.
On the other hand, Aston Villa received a brutal 5-1 humbling by Newcastle United at St James’ Park in their season opener but the Villans bounced back from that set-back and have given a good account of themselves so far this season.
In terms of recruitment, Unai Emery and Aston Villa snapped up players like Moussa Diaby from German Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, Spanish defender Pau Torres from La Liga club side Villarreal, Nicolo Zaniolo on loan from Turkish giants Galatasaray, Clement Lenglet also on loan from Barcelona, and Belgian midfielder Youri Tielemans on a free transfer from Leicester City.
As per the exists, the likes of young center-forward Cameron Archer left for Sheffield United, Marvelous Nakamba joined Luton Town, and Keinan Davis signed for Serie A side Udinese Calcio. Veteran English left-back Ashley Young left for Everton on a free transfer while Philippe Coutinho and Morgan Sanson both sealed loan moves to Al-Duhail FC and OGC Nice respectively.
Aston Villa have done well to combine European football and the Premier League this season and the recent form has been quite decent. Throughout the campaign, Emery’s men recorded impressive victories against Fulham, Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and the like. It has been a good season already and they just need to get over the line and get the reward they duly deserve. They defeated Arsenal in the reverse fixture and getting to do it again at the Emirates is a huge task.
Arsenal are very strong at home and have the quality to beat any side there as they have already taken full points against Liverpool and Manchester City this term.
Match tickets
The epic match at Emirates Stadium in London kicks off on Saturday 13th April 2024, at 3 PM UK time.
The magnificent 60,704-capacity stadium will be playing host to this fixture between the Premier League title contenders and a European football hopeful.
Getting tickets for the Arsenal vs 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
Arsenal do have some names in and out of the physio’s room. Defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has been battling a calf injury for a while Ghanaian midfielder Thomas Partey has struggled with a thigh injury all season. Fabio Viera is also another name in the long list of strugglers. Striker Gabriel Jesus has also had his issues. Meanwhile, Dutch defender Jurrien Timber could be back from his long layoff for this one. However, the likes of Saka, Martinelli, and Odegaard should be available for this game.
Arsenal: David Raya; Oleksandr Zinchenko, Gabriel, William Saliba, Ben White; Kai Havertz, Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard; Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Bukayo Saka.
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.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Carlos, Torres, Digne, Kamara, Luiz, McGin, Bailey, Tielemans, Watkins
Prediction
The game promises to be an interesting fixture because both teams are known for their attacking prowess and notorious high defensive lines. So, there should be goals in the fixture.
Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa