By Aston Villa FC

Game Details

 

Game: Aston Villa v Arsenal

Date: Tuesday 21st July

Competition: Premier League

Venue: Villa Park

Kick-off: 8:15pm

 

At a Glance

 

Aston Villa head into their penultimate game of the Premier League season knowing they must avoid defeat against Arsenal to boost their survival hopes.

 

Dean Smith’s team came within a few minutes of beating Everton last time out, with Theo Walcott snatching two points away with a late equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.

 

The Villans are looking to win consecutive league games at Villa Park for the first time this season, following a 2-0 victory against Crystal Palace in their last B6 outing.

 

Arsenal come into the match on the back of a 2-1 win against champions Liverpool in their last Premier League game.

 

The Gunners have endured mixed fortunes on the road in this campaign, winning four, drawing eight and losing six of their away league fixtures.

 

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has been the North London side’s standout player this term, bagging 20 goals in the Premier League.

 

Standout Stats

 

Since his league debut for Aston Villa in January 2017, Conor Hourihane has provided more assists in league competition (including play-offs) than any other Villa player (21).

 

Wesley and John McGinn scored for Villa against Arsenal this season in September. The last Villa player to score in both league fixtures against Arsenal in a season was Christian Benteke in 2013-14.

 

Aston Villa are looking to secure consecutive home wins in the Premier League for the first time since May 2015.

 

Head-to-Head

 

Aston Villa and Arsenal have met on 194 occasions, dating back to their first game in 1904.

 

Villa have won 66 times, drawn 45 and lost 83 games against the Gunners.

 

Team News

 

Smith confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Kortney Hause is back in training after the injury that he suffered in the warm-up prior to Villa’s 2-0 win against Crystal Palace.

 

Neil Taylor continues to be sidelined with a hamstring injury, while Tom Heaton, Wesley and Bjorn Engels remain long-term absentees.

 

The Boss

 

“We had a good win against Crystal Palace and followed it up with a good performance at Everton, where we should have won the game. 

 

“They have to maintain the performance levels, work hard for eachother and if you do that, you get the rewards. 

 

“We need to win, we know that. 

 

“You’ll always have people that want to put you down at times, so the job is to prove people wrong. 

 

“We believe that we have enough in the dressing room, and we have to prove that.”