Aston Villa vs Arsenal: Preview, head-to-head stats & starting XI predictions
By Luke Oluoch, August 31, 2026Arsenal will be on the road for the first time this Premier League season when they tackle Aston Villa on Monday at Villa Park.
The 10:00 pm kick-off pits them against Villa, who completed a dream season last term, clinching Champions League football by finishing fourth in the table, and winning the Europa League by beating Freiburg 3-0 in the final to lift their first piece of silverware in 30 years.
Their opener to the domestic campaign has, however, been tough, with a 4-0 defeat to compound matters after a transfer window saw them lose many players, with Ollie Watkins, Morgan Rogers, and Ezri Konsa as the highlights.
This will be the 208th meeting between the sides, with Arsenal winning 89 of those fixtures and Villa emerging victorious on 72 occasions.
The sides first met in October 1904, with Arsenal winning 1-0 in their English top-flight encounter in London. Villa won the reverse fixture 4-1 two months later.
Arsenal wins last meeting
There has not been a goalless draw between these sides in the last 21 matches, which have produced 63 goals and resulted in 13 wins for Arsenal and seven for Villa.
Villa did go on a four-match winning streak against the Gunners and have won six of the last 13 meetings with one draw.
Last season, Arsenal were 4-1 winners in the Premier League at Emirates Stadium when these sides last met.
Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus. Ollie Watkins grabbed the consolation for the Villans.
Gunners struggle at Villa Park
However, the Gunners lost in their last trip to Villa Park, going down to a matty cash winner. The club boasts wins in their last three Premier League home games against the reigning champions and has not lost two league opening matches since the 2019/20 season.
Mikel Arteta expressed optimism that his team will hit new heights as the league progresses.
“This is the best squad that we have, or we believe that we could have right now, and that’s it. That’s not the best squad that we’re going to have in a month’s time because hopefully the players will improve,” he said.
On his part, Unai Emery emphasised the need for a fast turnaround after the opening loss. “We must compete, we must win, we must rebuild the team as fast as possible,” he asserted.
Aston Villa team news
Ex-Chelsea ace Nicolas Jackson was registered in time and could be named to face Premier League champions Arsenal.
Former Bayern Munich ace Leon Goretzka could also make his debut after joining on a free transfer.
Alexandra Gomez is suspended for violent conduct and started the first of a three-game ban, while Amadou Onana misses out with a knee injury.
Aston Villa predicted XI: Suzuki; Cash, Lindelof, Torres, Ruggeri; Bogarde, Kamara; Buendia, Barkley, McGinn; Jackson
Arsenal predicted XI: Raya; White, Mosquera, Gabriel, Calafiori; Rice, Lewis-Skelly; Saka, Odegaard, Tzolis; Havertz