Arsenal Take Title Push to Villa Park

After suffering a temporary setback midweek in which Arsenal suffered a first home defeat to Premier League defending champions-Manchester City, the Gunners would this afternoon visit Aston Villa in their quest to becoming the English champions for the first time since 2004. Arteta’s side have only picked a point from their last three matches and would be hoping the Villa Park would bring a change in fortune today

Having both fallen to 3-1 defeats to Manchester City in their most recent Premier League encounters, Aston Villa and Arsenal kick off this weekend’s action at Villa Park in today’s lunchtime.
Unai Emery reunites with his former club as his current side sit 11th in the top-flight rankings, while the Gunners have been bumped down to second but could quickly regain top spot here.

Many wondered how Manchester City would immediately react to the plethora of charges that have been levied on them for alleged financial breaches, but Aston Villa ended up becoming the latest victims of an Etihad onslaught, as the champions responded how champions should.
Rodri’s header, Ilkay Gundogan’s tap-in and Riyad Mahrez’s penalty put the game to bed before the half-time whistle blew, but Ollie Watkins did manage to bag a consolation for the visitors before Jhon Duran rattled the woodwork with a thunderous volley in the dying embers.

The scoreline could have been more humiliating for Villa had Mahrez not ballooned another gilt-edged chance over the bar, and a second successive loss has further harmed the Lions’ top-half aspirations, as they enter the weekend three points adrift of Chelsea and four behind Liverpool, who have a game in hand.
The positives have outweighed the negatives for Villa since Emery took charge, as they have scored in all 11 of their competitive fixtures under the ex-Arsenal and Villarreal boss, but conceding seven goals in their last two games does not bode well before a meeting with the title contenders.
Each of the hosts’ last five home matches in the Premier League has seen both teams find the back of the net, but only one of those contests has ended in victory for Emery, who needs no briefing on the dangers that his former employers will pose in the West Midlands.

It was Villa’s turn to lose 3-1 to Man City at the weekend, and it was Arsenal’s turn to suffer an identical beating at the hands of the champions on Wednesday night – one which knocked the Gunners off their perch at the top of the table as defensive mistakes bedevilled them.
Kevin De Bruyne and Bukayo Saka both made the net ripple in the first half, but the City juggernaut came out all guns blazing in the second as Jack Grealish and Erling Braut Haaland made the error-strewn North Londoners pay, extending their winning streak over Arsenal to 11 games in the top flight.

What may have started out as a minor blip against Everton is now becoming a slippery slope for the Gunners, who have now failed to win any of their last three Premier League games and are in second place on goal difference as a result, albeit while holding a game in hand on Man City.
The destiny of the title is therefore still in their own hands, and a point would send them back to the summit today before Man City tackle Nottingham Forest in the afternoon, but more and more questions are now being asked about the credentials of this young team.

Nevertheless, Arsenal still travel to Villa Park as the Premier League’s best-performing away team this term – conceding a joint-low seven goals in the process – and they posted a 1-0 win in this fixture last term before edging a close contest 2-1 at the end of August.
Facing the only team in the Premier League to have bested them this season, Newcastle United welcome Liverpool to St James’ Park this evening.
The Magpies’ spate of stalemates continued with a 1-1 draw away at Bournemouth at the weekend, while the Reds brought joy to the Anfield faithful by beating Everton 2-0 in the Merseyside derby.

Newcastle’s Champions League destiny is very much in their own hands still, but failure to convert draws into wins has harmed their pursuit of a podium finish while also allowing the continental hopefuls below them to make up ground, as the injuries piled up for Eddie Howe’s side on the South Coast.
Travelling to Bournemouth for another reunion with his old club, Howe witnessed Marcos Senesi draw first blood for the Cherries on the hour mark, but Miguel Almiron’s 10th goal of the season just before the break ensured that Newcastle would leave with a share of the spoils.

That two-goal stalemate may have extended Newcastle’s unbeaten run in the top flight to a whopping 17 games, but the fourth-placed Magpies now only hold a two-point lead over Tottenham Hotspur – albeit with a game in hand – and failure to glean a positive result here could blow the Champions League race wide open.

Being held to draws against Leeds United, West Ham United and Crystal Palace in particular have not gone down well with the Newcastle faithful, who have been left to rue their side’s lack of ruthlessness in recent weeks – Howe’s men have a mere three goals to boast from their last six top-flight games.
Nevertheless, the hosts remain unbeaten at St James’ Park in 12 Premier League games and have shipped a league-low six goals on home soil throughout the campaign, so even a Liverpool side bouncing with renewed confidence will have their work cut out here.

Apprehension may have been creeping in for the Liverpool faithful as they welcomed an Everton side fresh from beating league leaders Arsenal, but the Toffees’ new manager bounce under Sean Dyche did not extend to a Merseyside derby success as the Reds reverted to type.
A lightning-quick Reds counter-attack in the first half ended with Mohamed Salah tapping home – helped by some atrocious positioning from Jordan Pickford – before Cody Gakpo tapped home at the back post for his first goal in Liverpool colours.

The Jurgen Klopp fist pumps were out in full force as Liverpool finally posted their first Premier League win of 2023 – ending a four-game winless run in the top flight in the process, but the visitors are still jostling for position in mid-table in ninth place, nine points off the top four with a game in hand on Newcastle.
European football is certainly not out of the question for Klopp’s side should Monday’s win act as a catalyst for better fortunes to come, but no Reds fans will need reminding of their away defeats to Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford and Wolverhampton Wanderers since the turn of the year, with nine goals conceded and only one scored in that dreadful run.

Only two of Liverpool’s last 10 Premier League games on the road have ended in victory, but they left it late to defeat Newcastle 2-1 at Anfield back in August, and Klopp’s team also inflicted the Magpies’ most recent home loss – a 1-0 success at St James’ Park at the end of April.