31/08/2026
Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Champions Arrive at Villa Park With Confidence
Aston Villa welcome the Premier League champions to Villa Park today, hoping to put their disastrous opening weekend behind them.
The hosts have endured a summer of significant change following their Europa League triumph last season, and their campaign could hardly have started worse, a 4–0 thrashing at the hands of Brighton last weekend.
Arsenal, meanwhile, could not have asked for a better opening to their title defence.
Mikel Arteta’s champions began their campaign with a commanding 3–0 victory over promoted Coventry, producing a performance that offered plenty of reasons for optimism.
New signing Tzolis was scintillating, Martin Ødegaard looked reborn and once again displayed his elegance and control, while MLS impressed in the anchorman role. Add Kai Havertz’s recent goalscoring form to the equation, and the Gunners arrive in Birmingham with plenty of confidence.
Villa’s poor start is perhaps indicative of a club still trying to find its identity after a turbulent summer.
Unai Emery has seen several important players depart, including Morgan Rogers, Ezri Konsa, Emi Martínez, Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans. Losing so many players who formed the backbone of the side leaves Emery with a significant rebuilding job.
The question now is whether the Villa boss can once again work his magic.
Emery has built much of his reputation by getting the best out of teams that perhaps exceed expectations, and Villa will need exactly that kind of managerial intervention if they are to maintain the standards they have established in recent seasons.
Arsenal have also experienced plenty of movement in the squad this summer, with Gabriel Martinelli, Gabriel Jesus, Fábio Vieira and Reiss Nelson among those linked with or involved in departures, while Leandro Trossard and Nørgaard have already moved on.
However, unlike Villa, Arsenal have retained the overwhelming majority of their core squad. And with Bruno Guimarães reportedly fit and available for the trip, while Ezri Konsa has already completed several training sessions, Arteta may actually have the more pleasant problem of deciding which players should miss out on the matchday squad.
Arsenal will, however, be without William Saliba and Jurriën Timber, both ruled out of the squad for this fixture.
Head-to-Head
This will be the 208th meeting between Aston Villa and Arsenal.
The Gunners have won 89 of the previous encounters, while Villa have come out on top 72 times. The remaining meetings ended in draws.
# # # Team News
Aston Villa
Alexandra Gómez is suspended after receiving a three-match ban for violent conduct and will serve the first game of that suspension today.
Amadou Onana is unavailable due to a knee injury.
Arsenal
* William Saliba is unavailable.
* Jurriën Timber is unavailable.
* Bruno Guimarães is fit and available.
What is your prediction for today's game?