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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 24
Aston Villa v Arsenal
Villa Park
Birmingham, England
Saturday, 18 February 2023
Kick-off is at 14h30
Premier League leaders Arsenal will target a return to winning ways when they travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa on Saturday, February 18.
The Gunners have allowed Manchester City and Manchester United to close the gap to top spot after the two neighbouring clubs both won last weekend.
Mikel Arteta's side were held to a 1-1 draw by Brentford at the Emirates Stadium on February 11 to go two games without a win, having embarked on a 13-match unbeaten run prior to that.
The north Londoners are now just three points clear of second-placed City and five ahead of third-placed United, while Newcastle (4th) and Tottenham (5th) lost ground on the top three after also dropping points at the weekend.
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The Villans remain unmoved in 11th position following a second successive defeat, having gone down 3-1 to the Citizens last time out.
Unai Emery's team lost 4-2 to Leicester in a Midlands derby on February 4, which halted a four-game unbeaten sequence, three of those ending in victory.
Villa trail ninth-placed Chelsea by just three points but saw Crystal Palace (12th) close within three as a result of their 1-1 draw with Brighton most recently.
Leandro Trossard could play an important role for Arsenal following his switch from Brighton during the January transfer window. The Belgian winger opened his account against the Bees in what was his third appearance for the capital club, having contributed 25 goals and 14 assists in 116 top-flight outings for the Seagulls.
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Ollie Watkins scored for the third game in succession against City to take his tally for the campaign to six league goals. The former Brentford striker is enjoying his time at Villa Park, where he surpassed the 10-goal mark in each of his first two seasons in the Premier League.
In team news, Diego Carlos (calf) and Bertrand Traore (knee) are closing in on a return for the hosts but Tyrone Mings is ruled out with an unspecified knock and Jed Steer continues his recovery from a calf injury.
The visitors remain without long-term absentees Gabriel Jesus and Mohamed Elneny (both knee), although Emile Smith Rowe and Reiss Nelson (both thigh) are edging closer to making their comebacks.
Emery stressed the importance of learning from their mistakes after seeing City capitalise on three costly errors to score three times in the first half.
"They (City) deserved to win, of course, but we made some mistakes that weren't normal," the Spaniard said. "We started well at the beginning with a good chance for Leon Bailey but then we conceded one goal from a corner.
"We tried to keep our gameplan but the second goal was a mistake in communication between Emiliano and Calum Chambers and they scored a second goal. That's the moment to finish the first half and change something, but the third goal is another mistake to concede a penalty.
"The result is important in every match but we have to use this match to learn, to analyse and show what to do in the next match against Arsenal at home."
Arteta admitted he needs to address their vulnerability at set-pieces after conceding from dead-ball situations in each of their last three matches.
"Of course, I want to improve in every area and we're the third-best team in terms of defensive set-pieces in the league," the Spaniard said.
"We want to be the best, so we have disclosed that today against a team that are giving you nothing because they've created two set pieces at the start of play. It's their strength, it's what they do.
"Set pieces are huge in this league, that's for sure."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Aston Villa - 2
Arsenal - 3
Draws - 0
Premier League fixtures - matchday 24:
Saturday, February 18
14h30: Aston Villa v Arsenal
17h00: Brentford v Crystal Palace
17h00: Brighton & Hove Albion v Fulham
17h00: Chelsea v Southampton
17h00: Everton v Leeds United
17h00: Nottingham Forest v Manchester City
17h00: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Bournemouth
19h30: Newcastle United v Liverpool
Sunday, February 19
16h00: Manchester United v Leicester City
18h30: Tottenham Hotspur v West Ham United
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