Aston Villa vs Arsenal tickets and match preview

Arsenal’s next Premier League game would be against Aston Villa, and it is a fixture that they wish they played long after now.

Mikel Arteta’s side is hoping to challenge for the Premier League title in three consecutive seasons.

Considering that they took the title race to the final game of last season, fans expect a lot from them in this campaign.

The natural next step is for them to go one better and unseat Manchester City as the champions of England.

Arsenal has been heavy spenders before this summer, but they have only signed Riccardo Calafiori in this transfer window.

The defender joins them as one of the top defenders in Europe, but he is not even expected to be a starter immediately.

Their first game of the campaign ended in a 2-0 win against Wolves, but the match against Aston Villa will be much tougher.

Fans who buy Arsenal tickets know a tough day lies ahead for them against their former manager, Unai Emery’s side.

Villa also began their campaign with a win after defeating West Ham in the first Premier League game of the season, and they stopped Arsenal from winning the title last season after inflicting the only league defeat of 2024 on the Gunners.

It will be an interesting game to watch, and even Aston Villa tickets will sell out because the Villans know their team can win.

Pre-season performances

Arsenal and Aston Villa are two Premier League clubs that will compete in the Champions League this season, so both clubs had to prepare well for the campaign.

Arsenal had a tough lineup of games ahead of the new season as they faced Bournemouth, Manchester United, Liverpool, Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon in pre-season.

Mikel Arteta’s men won all but one of those matches, which was the fixture against Liverpool.

Several of their key men did not play in most pre-season games because they participated in Euro 2024, but they started the match against Wolves.

Villa also had a busy summer before the Premier League season began as Emery’s team faced the likes of Borussia Dortmund, Athletic Bilbao, Club America, RB Leipzig, and Columbus Crew, among others.

The Villans were not in good form during their pre-season matches, but at West Ham, they proved that pre-season results do not matter much when competitive action starts.

They will cause Arsenal some problems when both clubs meet for this fixture, and even Arsenal supporters know it will be a tough day.

Match preview

Villa and Arsenal have always provided us with some of the best matches in any competition, and in recent times, their meetings have been extra spicy.

Apart from Unai Emery's failure at the Emirates, the Gunners have consistently targeted Villa players, so there is some resentment towards those at the Emirates from the Midlands.

But on the field, Arsenal will be worried about their host in this game because Mikel Arteta’s side has lost their last two games against Villa.

Before those losses, the Gunners were unbeaten in four straight games against Villa. However, in the last ten matches between both clubs, Villa won five, while Arsenal won the other half.

None of those matches ended in a draw, which suggests we are set for at least one of these clubs to win this game.

Villa is a solid team when it plays at home, but at the end of last season, their home form suffered a dip, which nearly caused them to lose their place in the top four.

Unai Emery’s team has won only two of their last six league home games, although they have lost just one of those matches.

In the first half of last season, they were unbeatable at home and defeated the likes of Arsenal and Manchester City.

This shows their pedigree, and they have all the motivation needed to beat Arsenal at home in consecutive seasons.

It's not that Mikel Arteta’s side will make it easy for them, and the Gunners are unbeaten away in the Premier League in 2024.

This run was the main catalyst for their success last term as they nearly won the title, and their fans will not forget in a hurry that it was their 2-0 loss at home to Villa which denied them a first league crown in 20 years.

Match ticket information

Tickets for this match are available from vetted resellers on Seatsnet for around £79, which is the best deal you can get from anywhere.

Key battles

The quality of both clubs means that there will be some interesting battles on the pitch when these clubs face off.

Arsenal does not have a world-class striker like Erling Haaland or Victor Osimhen, but its front three of Gabriel Martinelli, Kai Havertz, and Bukayo Saka will cause Villa problems.

They will come up against a back four of Matty Cash, Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne.

Villa’s defence features a tested set of players who can hold their own against the Gunners, but the main battle might be in midfield, where the trio of Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, and Thomas Partey will face Amadou Onana, John McGuinn, and Youri Tielemans.

Onana joined this summer after being tracked by Arsenal for several seasons and made a statement in his debut with a stunning headed goal.

The Belgian will be hard to tame, and he would also be responsible for ensuring Arsenal’s creative stars cannot do damage against his own team.

Villa’s attack which comprises of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey, among other stars will test Arsenal’s defence, but it kept the most clean sheet in the Premier League last season for a reason.

Arsenal has one of the best defence in the league and it will be tough for Villa to break it down, but they have done it before and will fancy their chance of repeating that.

Conclusion

Arsenal’s match against Aston Villa is one of the most interesting games in Europe this weekend, and it will test the Gunners’ title credentials.

If they lose at Villa, their momentum and confidence will take a huge hit, so this is probably a must-win match for the Londoners.