Arsenal Take Top-four Quest to Villa Park

Arsenal’s top-four quest suffered a setback midweek after going down at home 0-2 to a rampaging Liverpool side. Not deterred however, the Gunners will continue their fight for a Champions League spot as they visit Aston Villa today 

Arsenal will endeavour to get their top-four charge back on track when Aston Villa welcome them to Villa Park for today’s early Premier League kickoff.

Steven Gerrard’s side went down 2-1 to West Ham United last weekend, while the Gunners lost 2-0 to Liverpool in midweek.

It was an emotional occasion at the London Stadium last Sunday, but unfortunately for Aston Villa, there was little joy to be had, as top-four chasing West Ham abruptly ended the Lions’ three-game winning streak with a 2-1 success on their own turf.

Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko caused a few tears as he opened the scoring in clinical fashion in the 70th minute before Pablo Fornals seemingly made sure of the result with eight minutes remaining, although Jacob Ramsey struck a sublime late consolation to make things interesting.

However, Villa’s three-game winning run with three clean sheets intact before the West Ham loss has seen Gerrard’s men cement their position in the top half of the Premier League table, with the Lions sitting pretty in ninth at the time of writing.

Gerrard’s crop may have put four unanswered goals past Southampton during their last game at Villa Park, but performances at home have been rather hard to come by for the West Midlands side, who had previously gone four without a win on their own turf before the Saints paid a visit.

Villa have developed something of a penchant for lunchtime kickoffs, though – winning each of their last four 12:30pm Saturday encounters and Mikel Arteta is less than happy with the Gunners’ lack of recovery time for the early journey.

Attempting to get one over a rampant Liverpool was a step too far for top-four chasing Arsenal, and although a resilient first 45 minutes sparked optimism among Gooners, the Reds’ clinical qualities came to the fore in the second period.

The Gunners’ nemesis Diogo Jota beat Aaron Ramsdale at his near post seconds before being taken off for Roberto Firmino, who had the simple job of converting from close range just after the hour mark after some strong play from Andy Robertson down the left.

Arteta witnessed his side’s five-game winning run come to an end in frustrating fashion on the Emirates soil, but the Gunners remain in the driving seat when it comes to the Champions League race – still in fourth and a point clear of Manchester United with two games in hand.

Arteta was not a happy bunny after the Liverpool loss as he navigates a recovery period of less than 72 hours for the trip to Villa Park, but the fatigued Gunners can take confidence from their four-game winning run away from home in the Premier League, and their youthful attackers have struck 13 goals on rival turf in that period.

Arsenal ran out 3-1 winners when they welcomed Aston Villa to the Emirates earlier this season, but they have suffered back-to-back 1-0 defeats at Villa Park since the Lions returned to the big time in 2019, and it is clear who the fresher set of legs will belong to this weekend.

Meanwhile, a key battle in the Premier League’s top-four race takes place in North London on Sunday afternoon, as Tottenham Hotspur host local rivals West Ham United for a London derby.

The Lilywhites were 2-0 winners over Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek, while David Moyes oversaw one of the most famous European nights in the Hammers’ history.

Kane latched onto a long pass from Rodrigo Bentancur to coolly slot home past Robert Sanchez and become the most prolific away marksman in Premier League history – surpassing Wayne Rooney in the process.

One would expect the England captain to break that 100-mark pretty soon, but a return to home comforts now awaits Tottenham, whose midweek win saw them leapfrog Wolverhampton Wanderers into seventh place – three behind bitter rivals Arsenal having played a game more before the Gunners face Aston Villa today.

The Gunners’ defeat to Liverpool on the same night has given Spurs that slight bit of hope in their Champions League pursuit, but Antonio Conte’s inconsistent side have made a habit of winning one then losing one in recent weeks, which does not bode all that well for Sunday.

However, the Lilywhites have suddenly discovered a hot goalscoring streak under Conte – striking 13 times across their last four Premier League matches – and as memorable as West Ham’s Thursday evening was, fatigue could certainly work in the hosts’ favour here.

While they also had the efforts of Alphonse Areola to thank, West Ham forced extra time on the night through Tomas Soucek’s header, and a few days on from his emotional goal against Aston Villa, Ukraine’s Andriy Yarmolenko was in the right place at the right time to send the Hammers into the quarter-finals in the 112th minute.

The full-time whistle sparked pandemonium at the London Stadium as they wait to learn the fate of their quarter-finals opponents and David Moyes’s troops have little time to recover before a crucial battle in the top flight.

Before Sunday’s fixtures kick off, West Ham sit one place better off than Tottenham in sixth but are only above their North London rivals courtesy of a better goal difference, and each of the Hammers’ last three games away from home in all tournaments has ended in defeat.

West Ham have come up trumps in the last two Premier League meetings with Spurs – both of which were in front of their own fans – but they lost 2-1 in North London in the EFL Cup quarter-finals back in December and will certainly not be at peak fitness after two hours of gruelling Thursday night action.