Aston Villa are third in the Premier League table, six points off the top, with two games against leaders Arsenal to come in the next few weeks.
Villa have clawed their way into a position in which those two fixtures really matter. Two months ago, they were free hits. Now, four points from six against the Gunners would put Villa in a title race.
Unai Emery faces his old club on Saturday with Villa piling up the Premier League points at a rate of knots and I’d argue they still haven’t got out of third gear. Ollie Watkins arrived at the party with two goals against Brighton & Hove Albion in midweek as Villa, yet again, found a whole different way to bank the points.
Villa being involved in a title race after taking as long as they did to score a goal, never mind win a match, makes absolutely no sense. They’re not there yet. I’m not comfortable with the idea at all.
This Saturday lunchtime kick-off at Villa Park has the potential to change everything. If Villa did manage to win it, they’d be second in the Premier League in December and three points off title pace.
The option of deniability would be lost to us with a win on Saturday. That’s just the way it is. 15 matches into the season anything would still be possible and Villa, not Arsenal, would be the team with the wind at their backs in terms of league form.
It’s completely bananas.
Equally, a defeat against Arsenal would leave Villa in a more familiar position and with a more realistic idea of where they are and what they can be.
I don’t think losing this match would do Villa a great deal of damage when it comes to their actual stated aims for the season. It wouldn’t be a major setback in a push for a Champions League place through the league and it would have next to no effect on the Europa League campaign.
No, this one’s about something else. To dream or not to dream.
Emery told the media on Friday that former Gunners goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez has not trained since he pulled up in the warm-up before Wednesday’s win at Brighton and had to be replaced at the last minute by Marco Bizot.
The manager didn’t rule out a return in time to play Arsenal. While it seems a short turnaround with minimal remaining training opportunity at the time of Emery’s press conference, previous experience tells us that Martínez is likely to be selected regardless if he can play.
Tyrone Mings is out for another four weeks with injury. Ross Barkley is expected to be unavailable for somewhere between twice and three times as long as that.
Goalkeeper is the position most in doubt but I’m coming down on the side of Emery picking his first choice if he’s given any opportunity to do so. Martínez makes the predicted eleven on that basis.
Elsewhere, it’s back to the most familiar line-up. Watkins keeps his place after cracking his season open in midweek, with Emi Buendía rejoining the attacking unit and Youri Tielemans and Boubacar Kamara in midfield.
Arsenal’s threat in wide areas might influence Emery’s decision at left-back, where Ian Maatsen played against Brighton to good effect. My guess is Lucas Digne will be restored to the starting line-up for a match that’s suddenly become crucial.
Villa’s home game against Arsenal will be broadcast live on TNT Sports 1 and Discovery+ in the UK.
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➡️ How to watch Aston Villa v Arsenal: kick-off time, TV channels and streams
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