When Arsenal next take to the pitch, they’ll take on a side that just did them a solid in Aston Villa FC. Villa beat Manchester City earlier today, leapfrogging the reigning treble winners in the standings at the same time. It now means that the first place Gunners have opened up a six point lead over Man City, as they sit atop the table by two points over Liverpool.
Of course, to win the Premier League you have to beat all 19 other teams, not just City.
Arsenal at Aston Villa FC FYIs
Kick: Sat Dec. 9, 5:30pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Arsenal FC Preview Material: Team News Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Form: Arsenal WWWWL Aston Villa FC WDWWL
PL Standing: Arsenal 1st, 36 pts Aston Villa FC 3rd, 32 pts
Google Result Probability: Arsenal 46% Aston Villa FC 28% Draw 26%
But City is the club that is the toughest to top, as they have won the league three years running. And of course City has been the main thorn in the Gunners side. Let’s take a look at what kind of lineup the North Londoners could go with here.
Arsenal Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa FC
David Raya; Ben White, William Saliba, Gabriel Magalhaes, Oleksandr Zinchenko; Declan Rice, Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz; Bukayo Saka, Leandro Trossard, Gabriel Jesus.
Paul M. Banks is the owner/manager of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He’s written for numerous publications, including the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. He regularly appears on NTD News and WGN News Now, while writing for the International Baseball Writers Association of America. You can follow the website on Twitter.