Aston Villa now genuine title contenders as magician Unai Emery outsmarts Mikel Arteta again

Good morning, and welcome to live coverage of Aston Villa vs Arsenal from Villa Park, as two of the Premier League’s most in-form teams meet in what could be a pivotal clash at the top of the table.

Mikel Arteta’s side have emerged as strong title favourites this season and currently have a five-point advantage over Manchester City in second. They are now unbeaten in their last 18 games in all competitions, having come through a testing week against Tottenham Hotspur, Bayern Munich and Chelsea, before clinching victory over Brentford on Wednesday.

Arsenal’s last two results have come despite the absence of centre-back pairing Gabriel and William Saliba, and they could be without Cristhian Mosquera this afternoon. But they have been boosted by several attacking players returning to fitness in recent weeks, including Martin Odegaard, Viktor Gyokeres, Noni Madueke and Gabriel Martinelli.

Arsenal start the day six points ahead of Villa, who have climbed to third after a remarkable run of form. Unai Emery’s side picked up just two points from their opening four games this season, failing to score in that time, but have won eight of their last nine in the league, only losing at Liverpool during that run. 

Since the defeat at Anfield, Villa have registered victories over Bournemouth, Leeds United, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Brighton. They came out on top of a seven-goal thriller at the Amex on Wednesday, coming from two goals behind to lead 4-2 before the hosts netted a third late on. 

A fifth successive league win for the hosts this afternoon would see them go ahead of Manchester City, who face Sunderland later today, and to within three points of Arteta’s men. Arsenal took four points from this fixture last season, winning 2-0 at Villa Park in August before a 2-2 draw unfolded in north London in January.