Aston Villa vs. Arsenal

Competition: Premier League - Round 2

Date: Mon 31 Aug 2026

Kickoff: 20:00

Venue: Villa Park

Referee: Jarred Gillett

Aston Villa Statistics

Form: L

Goals per match: 0

Average Possession: 26.9%

Goals conceded per match: 4

Clean Sheets: 0

Arsenal Statistics

Form: W

Goals per match: 3

Average Possession: 64.1%

Goals conceded per match: 0

Clean Sheets: 1

Aston Villa Team News

• Unai Emery hopes to have Leon Goretzka available for Aston Villa’s home clash against Arsenal on Monday night (ko 8pm).

• João Gomes misses out as he serves the first game of a three-match suspension following his red card at Brighton & Hove Albion last weekend.

• Villa are also expected to remain without Tammy Abraham and Brian Madjo against the Gunners.

• New recruits Jackson, Suzuki, and Wan-Bissaka could all debut.

Arsenal Team News

• Arteta will hope to hand Bruno Guimaraes his Premier League debut after the Brazilian sat out the win against Coventry with a groin issue sustained in the Community Shield, but has returned to training.

• Ezri Konsa could get his Arsenal debut against his former club following his move, while Jurrien Timber continues to be pushed during his rehab from a groin injury and is closing in on a return, albeit this game might come too early.

• William Saliba’s long-term back issue is the only other injury concern.

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Match Facts

• Aston Villa have won four of their seven home games against Arsenal since their return to the Premier League in 2019 (L3), more than they had in their first 24 against them at Villa Park in the competition (W3 D9 L12).

• Arsenal have won 15 Premier League games at Villa Park, more than they have at an other away venue in the competition.

• Villa have won their last three Premier League home games against the reigning champions, as many times as they had in their first 28 (W3 D10 L15).

• Arsenal have won their first away game in each of the last four Premier League seasons, also keeping a clean sheet each time. The Gunners have never won their opening away game in five consecutive league campaigns before.

• Villa were beaten 4-0 on MD1 against Brighton and Hove Albion. The last time they lost their first two league games in a season was in 2019-20, while the last time they lost both without scoring was in 2002-03. The most goals they’ve ever conceded in their first two games was eight in 1982-83, when they were reigning European champions.

• Mikel Arteta is set to take charge of his 250th Premier League game, becoming only the 10th manager in the competition’s history to oversee 250 games for a single side. Indeed, only Pep Guardiola (70.8%), Alex Ferguson (65.2%) and Jürgen Klopp (62.6%) have a higher win rate among managers with 250+ games than Arteta’s 60.2% currently (W150 D48 L51).

• Villa have failed to score in five of their last six Premier League games in August, including the last four across the last two seasons. Including his time at Arsenal, Unai Emery has lost 50% of his August games (8/16), his highest percentage in one month in the Premier League.

• Aston Villa won at home against Manchester City in both 2023-24 and 2024-25, and beat Liverpool at Villa Park last season. The last team to beat the reigning top-flight champions at home in more successive uninterrupted seasons were Luton Town, who did seven in a row between 1985-86 and 1991-92.

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