Arsenal vs Aston Villa – LIVE!
Arsenal lead Aston Villa at the break thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s finish. The Gunners need a win just to stay within four points of Liverpool and they are 45 minutes away from doing just that, after Emi Martinez couldn’t quite claw away the ball to stop Martinelli’s strike crossing the line.
Mikel Arteta’s side have been wasteful in front of goal in recent matches, including in the win over Spurs, and the pressure is on the fit forwards to step up with Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Jesus still out. The Gunners have suffered a fresh injury blow, with William Saliba left out of the squad after picking up a hamstring issue against Tottenham
Villa are enjoying another strong season, sitting eighth in the table but only three points off the top four. With Arsenal’s search for a striker ongoing, Ollie Watkins will be keen to put on a show in north London and lead Villa to another statement win. Follow all the action with Standard Sport’s LIVE blog below, featuring expert analysis from Simon Collings at the ground.
Arsenal vs Aston Villa latest news
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GOAL! Martinelli gives Arsenal the lead
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How to watch: Sky Sports
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Arsenal team news: No Saliba
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Aston Villa team news: Malen on bench
Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium
18:21 , Matt Verri
A good half from Arsenal, who started brightly and kept the tempo up. Pressing Villa well high up the pitch.
Martinelli and Trossard – who combined for the goal – playing as well as they have for sometime.
Lewis-Skelly, again, excellent.
HT: Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
18:18 , Matt Verri
That’ll do for Arsenal.
Positive performance and they lead at half-time, thanks to Gabriel Martinelli’s goal.
Villa still right in this, though, carrying a threat on the counter.
Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
18:16 , Matt Verri
45 mins: Two minutes added on.
Arsenal have finished this half really well, Villa will be happy enough to just get to half-time now.
Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
18:15 , Matt Verri
44 mins: Trossard has to go all by himself on the left wing, until he topples over under pressure from Rogers. Referee not interested.
Arsenal are getting joy down the wings though. Trossard and Martinelli have the beating of Cash and particularly Maatsen.
Rogers and Trossard now clash off the ball, Villa midfielder gave the Belgian a shove after squaring up to him. Just a warning.
Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium
18:12 , Matt Verri
Lewis-Skelly v Rogers is a great little battle and so far the Arsenal left-back is coming out on top.
Another top performance from the teenager.
Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
18:12 , Matt Verri
40 mins: Now Merino should do better.
Brilliant pass slid through from Partey, Merino has plenty of space in the area.
Tries to curl it into the far corner, but he sets it out about three miles outside the post. Not coming back from there.
Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
18:10 , Matt Verri
39 mins: Arsenal firmly on top now.
Maatsen caught out by Martinelli again, as the Gunners push for a second.
Ball falls for Trossard in the box, he fires just over the bar.
Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
18:08 , Matt Verri
37 mins: Onana had an issue before that goal and he’s not going to be able to continue.
Bogarde on for the visitors.
Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium
18:07 , Matt Verri
Maatsen on his heels there and oblivious to Martinelli steaming in at the back-post, poor from the Villa left-back.
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa | Gabriel Martinelli 35′
18:06 , Matt Verri
ARSENAL TAKE THE LEAD!
They really, really needed that.
Trossard fires a brilliant ball across the face of goal, Martinelli gets across Maatsen and Martinez can’t quite keep it out.
Referee looks at his watch – it crossed the line.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
18:03 , Matt Verri
32 mins: Big chance for Watkins!
A shocking throw-in from Partey and Watkins has the chance to lob Raya, who was well off his line.
Villa striker lifts his effort well over the bar.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
18:02 , Matt Verri
31 mins: Arsenal free-kick taken quickly, as Havertz makes a sharp run in behind.
Cuts inside past Mings and fires an effort straight at Martinez, before the offside flag does then go up. Wouldn’t have counted.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
18:01 , Matt Verri
30 mins: Arteta loses his cool out of nowhere.
Think he was unhappy with Villa being awarded a throw-in after a Gabriel challenge, he was waving his arm around at the assistant on that side.
Referee comes over to show Arteta a yellow card.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
18:00 , Matt Verri
29 mins: Villa boot the ball clear and Watkins is away, up against the two Arsenal centre-backs.
Timber slows him down and forces Watkins to turn all the way back, but that’s another warning sign.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:59 , Matt Verri
28 mins: Havertz drops deep and combines well with Merino.
Fair to say he’s not full of confidence at the moment, so good to see him try his luck from distance, even if he does drag it well wide.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:57 , Matt Verri
26 mins: Martinelli shifts the ball out of his feet to work space for the cross, too close to Martinez though and he can claim.
Have been some nice signs from the likes of Martinelli and Odegaard so far, but nothing in the way of clear-cut chances.
Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium
17:55 , Matt Verri
Martinelli doing a good job out on the right flank so far.
Seems happy to stay wide, right on the touchline, which is helping stretch Villa a bit.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:54 , Matt Verri
23 mins: Watkins is constantly making a run in behind the Arsenal centre-backs, Villa haven’t quite been able to find him yet.
This time Timber just about sticks out a foot to intercept, just as Watkins looked set to run clean through.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:51 , Matt Verri
20 mins: Serious foot race between Martinelli and Maatsen and it’s one that the Arsenal winger wins.
Knocks it past the full-back and gets dragged down – Maatsen shown a yellow card and doesn’t bother complaining about that.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:49 , Matt Verri
18 mins: Arsenal back on the attack, as Havertz plays it out to Trossard.
He cuts inside onto his right foot, effort from distance takes a slight deflection and Martinez does his best to make that save look as dramatic as possible.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:48 , Matt Verri
17 mins: Villa have definitely grown into this match, it’s an even contest now.
Onana turns Odegaard and Villa are through the Arsenal press, with Maatsen allowed to travel down the left. His cross is charged down this time.
Villa have had nearly 75% of the ball in the last five minutes.
Simon Collings at the Emirates
17:47 , Matt Verri
A decent start from Arsenal all in all.
Rice at the heart of it, he’s been absolutely everywhere so far. A monster.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:44 , Matt Verri
13 mins: Poor headed clearance leaves Ramsey free in the box, he opts to play it back into the middle rather than going for goal.
Villa stay on the attack, Maatsen works his way into the area and lashes a shot straight at Raya.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:43 , Matt Verri
12 mins: First Villa attack and it brings them a throw which they will send long into the box.
Up come the defenders, but Arsenal deal with it well to clear their lines.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:40 , Matt Verri
9 mins: How has it not gone in?!
Martinez goes down as the corner comes in, referee doesn’t react.
Gabriel nods it back into the middle, ball drops for Partey and he smashes the ball against Martinez, he was facing the other way.
Should have scored.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:39 , Matt Verri
8 mins: Third corner already coming up, as Martinelli has a run at Maatsen but sees his cross charged down.
Odegaard down holding his head after challenging with Onana, but he’s up and over to swing this latest corner in.
Martinez considers coming, changes his mind and Konsa can only flick it behind.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:37 , Matt Verri
6 mins: Arsenal right at it early on. Rice combines nicely with Odegaard and fires a ball into the six-yard box, Mings heads it behind for another corner.
Odegaard takes this one, crowded at the near post but Villa deal with it.
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:35 , Matt Verri
4 mins: And again, Rice whipping a brilliant ball in and Martinelli finds space round the back.
On the stretch he gets decent contact on the volley, but Martinez can keep it out and then react quickly enough to jump on the loose ball.
Simon Collings at the Emirates
17:34 , Matt Verri
Martinez getting his usual welcome here, booed and whistled from the off.
Villa fans respond by telling Arsenal fans he left “because you’re s***.”
Arsenal 0-0 Aston Villa
17:34 , Matt Verri
3 mins: Trossard’s cross is blocked by Cash, very early corner for the Gunners.
Aston Villa have only conceded once from corners all season, but that record will come under real scrutiny this evening.
Rice swings it in, Martinelli completely free at the back post but he loops a header wide.
KICK-OFF!
17:30 , Matt Verri
We’re underway at the Emirates!
Here we go
17:28 , Matt Verri
Teams are out onto the pitch.
Arsenal have had plenty of home matches recently and they have pretty much all been huge games.
This one no different.
Not long now!
17:22 , Matt Verri
Warm-ups done at the Emirates, kick-off just over five minutes away.
Arsenal flew out of the blocks against Tottenham with a really positive start, even if they did then concede the first goal.
Need a similarly front-footed start here or this could become a really tough evening.
Strength in depth…
17:17 , Matt Verri
Just how crucial could the benches prove to be tonight?
Arsenal with very little to call on in terms of attacking options if they find themselves needing to chase the game, but no such concerns for Aston Villa.
Duran, Malen and Bailey among those waiting in reverse if needed.
Here are the two benches:
Arsenal: Neto, Tierney, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia, Sterling
Aston Villa: Olsen, Gauci, Bogarde, Nedeljkovic, Digne, Buendia, Bailey, Malen, Duran
Arteta on Saliba injury
17:09 , Matt Verri
Mikel Arteta has been speaking ahead of kick-off, explaining William Saliba’s absence.
“He felt something post-match [after Tottenham game], something muscular,” Arteta tells Sky Sports.
“We don’t think it’s too much, but he could not train yesterday. He wasn’t feeling good enough to play so we have to assess the situation.”
He added: “He wasn’t feeling right after the game. He felt something so we need to do further tests to understand what’s wrong.”
Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium
16:57 , Matt Verri
It will be interesting to see the atmosphere in the crowd after those two late Liverpool goals.
Am sure everyone here was keeping track of the game at Brentford. Feels like a gut-punch for Arsenal fans.
Bad news for Arsenal fans…
16:52 , Matt Verri
Liverpool were being held by Brentford heading into stoppage-time… not now, though.
Darwin Nunez has struck twice in the final minutes to earn Liverpool an absolutely huge win in the title race.
Had it been a draw, Arsenal could have closed the gap to two points. They now need a win just to keep it at four, having played a game more.
Simon Collings at the Emirates Stadium
16:44 , Matt Verri
Timber, Partey and Rice all with different roles this evening – not ideal for the Gunners.
Odegaard hails Arsenal atmosphere
16:36 , Matt Verri
Martin Odegaard has used his programme notes to thank Arsenal fans for the atmosphere created in the win over Tottenham on Wednesday night, as he emphasised the need for that to be the start of a winning run.
He writes: “The atmosphere inside the stadium was absolutely top-class from start to finish.
“You can see a lot of negativity on social media after the last two games, but when we come to the stadium and feel the support and the energy – it’s massive for us.
“How everyone reacted after they scored their goal made a big difference to us. We kept on going and you kept behind us. The atmosphere was top, we loved it and we thank you.
“We hope we made you proud, and it was a beautiful moment to share that with you all at the final whistle. We have to go on a run now, like we did at this stage last season.”
Minor issue for Saliba
16:28 , Matt Verri
So, Arsenal without William Saliba this evening.
Club say it’s just a “minor issue”, but it keeps him out of this match as Jurrien Timber shifts to centre-back and Thomas Partey starts on the right of defence.
Mikel Merino and Gabriel Martinelli come into the side.
Aston Villa team news
16:18 , Matt Verri
Aston Villa XI: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen, Kamara, Onana, Rogers, Tielemans, Ramsey, Watkins
Subs: Olsen, Gauci, Bogarde, Nedeljkovic, Digne, Buendia, Bailey, Malen, Duran
Arsenal team news
16:16 , Matt Verri
Arsenal XI: Raya, Partey, Timber, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Merino, Rice, Odegaard, Trossard, Martinelli, Havertz
Subs: Neto, Tierney, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia, Sterling
Stand by…
16:13 , Matt Verri
All the team news from north London coming up in the next couple of minutes!
Sounds like Arsenal are going to be forced into at least one change…
Saliba not seen arriving with squad
16:05 , Matt Verri
William Saliba has not been spotted with the Arsenal squad as they arrive at the Emirates.
The Frenchman was seen holding his hamstring late in the win over Tottenham in midweek – that could well keep him out here.
More injury problems not really what Arsenal need right now.
Elsewhere in the Premier League…
15:58 , Matt Verri
Goals haven’t exactly been flying in around the grounds, to put it mildly.
Three 3pm kick-offs, 45 minutes played… no goals.
Brentford 0-0 Liverpool
Leicester 0-0 Fulham
West Ham 0-0 Crystal Palace
Arsenal keen on Nypan
15:50 , Matt Verri
Arsenal are interested in Norwegian midfielder Sverre Nypan.
The 18-year-old has been touted as one of the brightest young prospects in Europe after making his debut for Rosenborg in 2022 aged just 15.
Nypan became the youngest player ever to represent the club and has been scouted by several top European sides since then.
Arsenal are understood to be interested in the teenager and reports in Norway claim he could be allowed to leave for around £10million.
The Gunners may prove an attractive next destination for Nypan given that they are captained by fellow Norwegian Martin Odegaard.
Arteta: Saka needs to take holiday
15:42 , Matt Verri
Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has told Bukayo Saka to take a well-earned holiday.
Saka is currently out injured after tearing his hamstring last month and is not expected back in action until at least March.
Coming into this current campaign, Saka had played over 6,000 minutes in the Premier League alone during the previous two seasons.
The winger is now working on his recovery, while he is also staying close to the squad, but Arteta is also eager for Saka to get away on holiday.
“He needs to,” said Arteta. “He is obligated to go. With his girlfriend or his family, he can choose. Or on his own.
“But he needs to get away for a few days and refresh. He can still do a lot of things with his rehab because it is the perfect stage. I think it will make him really better.
“He is [around the squad], and he has been every single day there [at the training ground]. There is a moment, especially when we are going to be away for a few days that he needs to do that. That is very important for him as well. We need to look after our players.
“Bukayo hasn’t had any time off for the past two seasons, so it’s a moment where maybe he can have a break as well, in other parts of his life, be closer to his family – great.”
Stage is set!
15:34 , Matt Verri
All eyes on north London this evening…
Standard Sport prediction
15:27 , Matt Verri
This will be a tough test for Arsenal, particularly with Villa in good form.
It has been a busy schedule of big matches for the Gunners and it could catch up with them here.
Draw, 1-1.
Aston Villa team news
15:20 , Matt Verri
Villa will not have any of Diego Carlos, John McGinn, Ross Barkley or Pau Torres available.
Donyell Malen could make his debut for the club after arriving from Borussia Dortmund this week, having previously played for Arsenal’s academy.
Arsenal team news
15:13 , Matt Verri
Arsenal could remain without Riccardo Calafiori for today’s Premier League clash with Aston Villa.
The Italian defender has missed each of the last three games due to injury and Gunners boss Mikel Arteta confirmed on Friday that the club were still checking on the fitness of a few players.
If Calafiori is out, it may mean that youngster Myles Lewis-Skelly keeps his place in the team and gets another start at left-back.
Arsenal face a packed January schedule and so there could be changes to the team for the visit of Villa this evening. Chelsea loanee Raheem Sterling started against Spurs, but he may make way for Gabriel Martinelli on the right wing.
The Gunners remain light on attacking options and currently have just four fit forwards to choose from with Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Jesus and Ethan Nwaneri all sidelined.
Predicted Arsenal XI (4-3-3): Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard
How to watch Arsenal vs Aston Villa
15:06 , Matt Verri
TV channel: Today’s game will be broadcast live in the UK on Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Ultra HDR. Coverage starts at 5pm GMT ahead of a 5:30pm kick-off.
Live stream: Subscribers will also be able to watch on a live stream online via the Sky Go app.
LIVE coverage: Follow all the action with us! Simon Collings will be providing expert analysis from the Emirates.
Good afternoon!
14:59 , Matt Verri
Hello and welcome to Standard Sport’s LIVE coverage of Arsenal vs Aston Villa!
It’s another huge match for the Gunners, who need to pick up all three points to ensure they stay bang in the title race.
Unai Emery, though, will be desperate to once again come away from his former club with victory.
We’ll have all the latest updates, build-up and team news right here ahead of kick-off, which comes at 5:30pm GMT from the Emirates Stadium!
