Arsenal will travel to the midlands today and they are well aware of the threat posed by Aston Villa. The Gunners lost 2-0 the last time when they faced each other, which proved to be very costly. The setback was decisive as they finished 2 points below Man City.
Mikel Arteta and co. are heading to battle their club’s former boss, Unai Emery. The North Londoners want to challenge City’s regime and are keen on overthrowing them this season. They have started this season in the perfect fashion as they beat Wolves comfortably by 2-0 at home in their opening match.
Villa began their league campaign with a hard earned 2-1 win against West Ham, showing their tactical discipline. Unai Emery has created a unified dressing room and cultivated winning mentality in the team. However, goalkeeper Emi Martinez played some mind games before the match against his former club. He says;
“Nah, nah … we are not title contenders. You can see that we sold two or three good players that we had. We want to go on a cup run, maybe even win the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup. But there is no way we can challenge for the title.”
The Gunners will arrive in Birmingham with full confidence because of their brilliant form since pre-season. This is their first away game this season, and they would want to show why they are the top title contenders this season, hoping to impress the fans as well. Arteta’s men are pumped up to seek vengeance on the team which snatched six important points from them last season.
Gear yourselves up for a feisty clash, it might not necessarily be a goal fest but a test for tactical resilience for both the teams.
Predicted lineups for Aston Villa (H) vs Arsenal (A): Preview
Unai Emery is expected to field a 4-4-1-1 formation against Mikel Arteta’s side. It will be a compact midblock with possession and a low block without possession. The ex Arsenal boss will aim to hurt them with quick counters on the break just like last season.
Aston Villa Predicted Playing XI: Martinez; Digne, Pau Torres, Diego Carlos, Konsa; Onana, Tielemans; McGinn, Rogers, Bailey; Watkins.
Arsenal look more dangerous than Villa heading into this game. Mikel Arteta is expected to field a 4-3-3 attacking formation against his compatriot. The Gunners will aim to create an overload in the opposition box and choke them slowly.
Arsenal Predicted Playing XI: Raya; Zinchenko, Gabriel, Saliba, White; Rice, Odegaard, Partey; Martinelli, Saka, Havertz.
Arsenal are the favourites to win this clash by a very narrow margin because of their slightly superior squad. There might not be many goals in this game, it will be more of a tactical matchup between the two Spanish coaches. However, one must not sleep on Villa as they are dangerous in front of their home crowd.
Unai Emery vs Mikel Arteta: Battle of Spaniards
Former Arsenal boss, Unai Emery, has been in charge of Villa since November 2022 and helped guide his side into the Champions league. They were on the verge of relegation when he took over and now they are playing in the best European competition. He has done a stellar job so far at Birmingham.
He was appointed as the Arsenal boss in 2018, succeeding legendary Arsene Wenger. However, the Spaniard was ultimately dismissed a year and a half later, despite his best efforts. He guided the Gunners to the final of the Europa league as well.
Now in charge of Aston Villa, Emery dented Arsenal’s title hopes last year, with a 2-0 victory over his successor Mikel Arteta at the Emirates. The 52-year old holds a better head-to-head record against his fellow compatriot.
These two have faced each other five times and the Villa boss got the better of him three times. There has been one draw and only one loss against the 44-year old manager for Emery. Football viewers and pundits feel that Arteta is a better manager than Emery but the stats and trophy cabinet indicate otherwise.
Unai Emery has a far better CV and is tactically more experienced than the Gunners’ boss. Mikel Arteta is relatively young and still has a lot to learn. He has the potential to become one of the best managers in the world.
With Emery’s Villa set to host Arsenal today, it is a test of Mikel Arteta’s mettle as a top Premier league manager.
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