Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa will face each other in the Premier League this weekend.
Both Arsenal and Aston Villa are doing well, and the Premier League game at the Emirates Stadium in North London on Sunday promises to be hugely exciting and entertaining.
Arsenal are at the top of the Premier League table at the moment with 71 points from 31 matches, level on points with second-placed Liverpool.
Villa find themselves fifth in the standings. Unai Emery’s side have picked up 60 points from 32 matches and are level on points with Tottenham Hotspur, who are fourth and have played 31 games.
Arsenal are in better form at the moment. The Gunners have won four of their last Premier League games. Villa have won just one of their last five league games.
The Gunners, though, drew in the UEFA Champions League in midweek, while the Villans won in the UEFA Europa Conference League.
Paul Merson and Chris Sutton predict Arsenal vs Aston Villa winners
Former Arsenal and Villa star Paul Merson has backed Mikel Arteta’s side to win the match, and so has ex-Chelsea striker and BBC Sport pundit Chris Sutton.
Sutton told BBC Sport: “Arsenal got a bit of criticism for their performance against Bayern Munich in midweek but I didn’t think they were that bad.
“You can’t be dismissive of Bayern with the players they’ve got and if Bukayo Saka had gone for goal at the end of the game rather than chucking himself into Manuel Neuer, Arsenal would have won. I don’t know what Saka was thinking there.
“This is another tricky game for the Gunners with former boss Unai Emery returning to the Emirates. Aston Villa beat them before Christmas and they are very dangerous coming forward.
“Villa have definitely got a goal in them, but I don’t think they are going to outscore Arsenal. There is too much at stake now for Mikel Arteta’s side, and the Premier League leaders have too much to lose.
“Sutton’s prediction: 3-1.”
Merson told SportsKeeda: “I watched Aston Villa against Brentford and if they play like that against Arsenal – turn the lights off.
“I have to go with the home side here as they have been unbelievable especially since the turn of the year and their record at the Emirates Stadium makes for impressive reading.
“Villa haven’t won a trophy since 1996, so they will be keen on winning the Conference League.
Prediction: Arsenal 2-0 Aston Villa.”
How Arsenal fared against Aston Villa in December
Arsenal will head into the Premier League match against Aston Villa this weekend as favourites, but the North London club will be conscious of what happened earlier in the season.
The Gunners faced Villa away from home at Villa Park in the Premier League on December 9, 2023.
Unai Emery’s side won the match 1-0. John McGinn scored the only goal of the game in the seventh minute.
Kai Havertz scored a late goal for Arsenal, but it was controversially ruled out for handball.
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