Arsenal make the trip up to the Midlands for their 16th league game of the season this weekend, as the Gunners play Aston Villa.
The morale at London Colney is sure to be at a high going into this occasion because of the events over the past week. Arsenal won convincingly in Greece last Wednesday by a scoreline of 3-0 courtesy of (for the first time in an Arsenal shirt) an Olivier Giroud hat-trick, sealing qualification for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages, against all the odds. It was a comfortable victory as the game settled in, with a makeshift midfield stepping up to the mark, they provided some slick play in the attacking proceedings which Giroud hugely benefitted from.
Despite the considerable prospect of a European giant facing them in the round of 16, being able to still qualify for the next round despite being in such a dangerous position going into the fifth matchday showed the resilience and quality of the squad, so the achievement is sure to fire them up.
Arsenal kept up the pace with unlikely league leaders Leicester City last weekend with a solid 3-1 win against Sunderland. Goals from Joel Campbell, Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey wrapped up what was a comfortable win for the Gunners to get them back to winning ways.
Tomorrow’s opposition aren’t in the best form right now, to say the least. The side in claret and blue sit bottom of the table, a distant seven points from safety. The host of new signings in the summer have failed to gel and as a result the Villains have been uncoordinated, sloppy and unstructured. Changes have been made to resolve this crisis, with Randy Lerner firing Tim Sherwood and his backroom staff, replacing the FA Cup finalist with former Lyon manager and, coincidentally, former Gunner, Remi Garde.
The Frenchman has already picked up points against strong sides like Manchester City, and Southampton last weekend. Remi Garde’s men went to St. Mary’s and were lucky to get a point as their goal was bombarded with attempts, as their defence lacked cohesion. Villa have now gone 14 games without a win, so expect Arsenal to be feeling confident going into this one.
A player Arsenal need to watch out for is Rudy Gestede. It’s perhaps a surprising choice, but the former Blackburn man is lethal in the air, and turns the ball into a bullet in aerial challenges – it’ll be interesting to see if Arsenal’s defenders can cope with the raw strength of such a player, even if he isn’t technically blessed.
The player Aston Villa need to keep an eye out for is Aaron Ramsey. Since being moved back into the middle, the Welshman has notched a goal and two assists. Expect his influential style of play to be a real handful for the Villa defence, as he links up with fellow in-form players Mesut Özil and Olivier Giroud.
Match facts:
– Arsenal have won 74 of the 177 matches officially played between these two sides.
– Villa have the home advantage records-wise, winning 38 of the 87 matches played between these two in the Midlands.
– Arsenal haven’t conceded against Villa in the last three times they’ve played, scoring twelve in the process.
– The Gunners have four of the last five match-ups.
– Olivier Giroud has scored nine times in his last eleven matches.
– Since 2004, only Robin van Persie (14) has scored more times in an Arsenal shirt by the 9th of December in a season than Olivier Giroud this season (13).
– Mesut Özil has the joint-most assists in Europe’s top five leagues in this calendar year, with 16 (joint with Kevin De Bruyne).
Team news
Jack Grealish is back into team selection after serving a two-match ban for his off-the-pitch behaviour. Leandro Bacuna and Rudy Gestede are fit despite picking up knocks last weekend, however, Micah Richards is a doubt.
Arsenal didn’t pick up any new injuries last Wednesday, so the list is still Alexis Sanchez, Jack Wilshere, Mikel Arteta, Danny Welbeck, Santi Cazorla, Francis Coquelin and Tomas Rosicky. Theo Walcott and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain should be able to complete a full match after returning from injury last week.
Predicted XIs
Aston Villa (4-3-3): Guzan; Hutton, Okore, Lescott, Bacuna; Veretout, Sanchez, Gueye; Sinclair, Gestede, Ayew.
Arsenal (4-2-3-1): Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Ramsey, Flamini; Campbell, Özil, Oxlade-Chamberlain; Giroud.
