Aston Villa vs Arsenal LIVE: Premier League team news and line-ups as Martinelli benched for Trossard


Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings signs new contract

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings has signed a new deal with the Premier League club.

Villa have not disclosed details of the new contract for Mings, whose previous deal was set to expire at the end of next season.

A club statement read: “Aston Villa is delighted to announce Tyrone Mings has signed a new contract with the club.

Aston Villa defender Tyrone Mings signs new contract

The England international’s previous deal was set to expire at the end of next season.

Three in a row?

The Gunners have lost successive away games in all competitions, as many as in their first 14 this term. They last lost three away games in a row in December 2021, while they’ve not done so without scoring since December 2009.

Slow starters

Unai Emery’s side have conceded a top-flight high of nine goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season.

Should they get through that period Aston Villa could be able to pile the pressure on Arsenal with the in-form Ollie Watkins searching for more goals.

Arsenal must remind themselves of their brilliance against tricky Aston Villa

Just over a month ago, the murmurings began. A 2-0 away win at north London rivals, Manchester City suffering a derby defeat the day before. Eight points the gap. They couldn’t, could they?

Skip forward to Wednesday night, as Erling Haaland fired home City’s third, and Arsenal’s lead at the top of the Premier League was no more.

If a month feels a long time in today’s unrelenting footballing world, Mikel Arteta and his Arsenal squad will now appreciate that better than most.

There can be no period of reflection, no time to lick the wounds. Arteta must rouse his troops immediately. Just three days on from that crushing defeat lies Saturday’s tricky encounter away against Aston Villa, a team now managed by his predecessor Unai Emery.

Arsenal must remind themselves of their brilliance against tricky Aston Villa

Having lost their spot at the top of the table in midweek, Arsenal must now travel to Villa Park to face an Aston Villa side under the tutelage of former Gunners manager Unai Emery

Gunners on the road

Arsenal have taken 25 points out of a possible 33 in their 11 top-flight away fixtures this campaign, just three shy of their tally in the whole of last season.

Close to the top

This is the first time since 20th August that Arsenal are starting a round of fixtures not on top of the Premier League table but they could end the day there if they defeat Aston Villa and Manchester City fail to beat Nottingham Forest in the 3pm kick off.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta calls for protection ahead of ‘very difficult’ Aston Villa trip

Mikel Arteta has called for the Premier League to offer all clubs the protection of not being forced to kick-off early on a Saturday having played on a Wednesday night.

Champions League teams do not have to play in the 12.30pm slot on a Saturday if they have played in Europe on the Wednesday night.

However, Arsenal will kick off at Villa Park just 63 hours after the full-time whistle blew in their 3-1 loss to title rivals Manchester City.

Speaking in 2020, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp fumed in an interview with BT Sport after his side had been held to a 1-1 draw by Brighton in the early kick-off having faced Atalanta in the Champions League.

Mikel Arteta calls for protection ahead of ‘very difficult’ Aston Villa trip

Arsenal will kick off at Villa Park just 63 hours after the full-time whistle blew in their 3-1 loss to title rivals Manchester City

Back-to-back defeats?

Aston Villa are looking to avoid consecutive league defeats at Villa Park for the first time since April last year where one of those two defeats was against Arsenal.

Can Arsenal find a way to win?

Arsenal are without a win in their last three top-flight games, having dropped points in just three of their opening 19 league fixtures this season.

Has their luck run out or can they get back to winning ways today?

Was Arsenal’s defeat to Man City the start of the end of the Premier League title race?

By the time Mikel Arteta returned to the Arsenal dressing room, the players were barely saying a thing. The mood was “down”. Arteta attempted to rouse them by saying they just needed to figure out why they lost in order to improve on it, and “move on”.

A problem is now how the season evolves from here, though. Such was the nature of Manchester City’s victory that it’s impossible not to think this is the start of the end. For the first time this season, though, that fear isn’t just because of the champions’ capacity to go on one of those runs.

It is whether Arsenal now go in the other direction. This 3-1 defeat to City made it one point from three in the Premier League, three defeats in the last four in all competitions and no victories at all in any of this.

Is this the start of the end of the Premier League title race?

Man City have the momentum after a 3-1 win at the Emirates, while Arsenal and Mikel Arteta have problems to solve to prove there is still fight in them

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