Arsenal Vs Aston Villa Prediction: The Gunners Keep Unbeaten Record At Emirates Stadium

JAKARTA - Saturday night, January 18 or Sunday morning, Emirates Stadium will witness an interesting meeting between Arsenal and Aston Villa in the Premier League continued. This match will also be a stage for Unai Emery, head coach of Aston Villa, who returned to his former headquarters with ambition to win an important victory.

Both teams are in a positive form after winning a win in the middle of the week. Arsenal managed to beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the North London Derby, while Aston Villa beat Everton 1-0 in the match that David Moyes returned to Goodison Park.

This season, Arsenal have failed to take advantage of the mistakes of their competitors in the title race. However, this week, Mikel Arteta and his team managed to maximize opportunities after Nottingham Forest, Chelsea, and Liverpool lost important points. Victory over Tottenham strengthened Arsenal's position in second place in the Premier League standings.

In that match, Dominic Solanke's own goal and an additional goal from Leandro Trossard were the key to victory, even though Son Heung-min's opener left Arsenal behind. Although Arsenal's attacking line performance still requires a sharper finishing, they still managed to keep the lead and picked up three important points.

This victory also confirmed Arsenal's status as the team with the best home performance in the Premier League this season. With 24 points from 30 possible at the Emirates, Arsenal are unbeaten at home in the league competition. However, Arsenal fans certainly remember the bitter defeat to Aston Villa in April 2024, which effectively destroyed their hopes of winning last season's title.

Meanwhile, Aston Villa came with high confidence after winning three consecutive wins in all competitions. After starting 2025 with a win over Leicester City and West Ham United, Emery's side managed to prolong their positive trend with a narrow win over Everton at Goodison Park.

A single goal fromtensil Watkins sealed a win for Villa as well as broke their poor record in away matches. Previously, Villa swallowed five consecutive defeats in the Premier League away game without a single clean sheet. Now, Villa are only three points adrift of the Champions League zone, making this match very crucial for them.

Arsenal have already responded to last season's 2-0 win at Villa Park last August, which was also the only Villa home defeat in the Premier League this season. However, maintaining consistency at the Emirates will be a tough test for Aston Villa in proving their ambitions this season.

Arsenal were hit hard after Gabriel Jesus was ruled out until the end of the season due to an ACL injury. The injury adds to the long list of Arsenal players who cannot perform, including Bukayo Saka (hamstring), Ethan Nwaneri (dot), Ben White (lutut), and Takehiro Tomiyasu (lutut). In addition, Riccardo Calafori is still in doubt due to muscle problems.

If Calafiori has not recovered, Myles Lewis-Skelly will most likely return to filling the left-back position after performing brilliantly in the North London Derby. On the other hand, Raheem Sterling is likely to lose his place at the starting XI, with Gabriel Martinelli ready to return to the left wing.

In the Villa camp, Pau Torres (leg), Ross Barkley (betis), and John McGinn (paha) were ruled out. In addition, Diego Carlos was said to have suffered a minor injury by Emery, but the Brazilian denied the claims through social media.

Speculation about Diego Carlos' future continues to grow, with reports linking him to transfers to Fenerbahce, Jose Mourinho's side club. On the other hand, Jhon Duran, who has completed the ban on competing, is still waiting for his first playing minute in the Premier League this year.

Total Watkins, who scored Villa's second goal at the Emirates last season and also known as a tough Arsenal fan, will almost certainly be the mainstay of the front line. Meanwhile, Donyell Malen, a new signing from Borussia Dortmund, will probably make his debut in this match, although it is not yet included in XI's starting plan.

Based on the latest performance, Arsenal have a significant advantage thanks to an impressive home record and enthusiasm to keep pressure on Liverpool at the top of the standings. However, Unai Emery is not an easy opponent. The former Arsenal coach has proven himself to be a strategist capable of exploiting the opponent's weaknesses.

If Villa were able to perform solid performance as they showed against Everton, this match could be a fierce battle until the last minute. However, with the absence of some key players in both teams, Arsenal are predicted to take advantage of their positive momentum to gain a narrow victory in front of Emirates supporters.

Arsenal:Raya; Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly; Odegaard, Partey, Rice; Martinelli, Havertz, Trossard

Aston Villa:Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Onana; Rogers, Tielemans, Bailey; Watkins

Final Score Prediction: Arsenal 2-1 Aston Villa