The omens are good for Arsenal. The last time they lost at Villa Park it didn’t even involve Aston Villa. That was the 2003/04 FA Cup when Manchester United squeaked through to the final thanks to a single Paul Scholes goal. In fact we’ve to go back to the closing months of the last millennium to find the previous occasion when Villa got the better of the Gunners on home soil. Since then it’s been eleven games without defeat and a haul of 21 points out of a possible 33.
The quirks of the transfer market mean it’s a reunion with Gunners old boy Robert Pires and his presence sums up the problems facing Gerard Houllier at present. Injuries have mounted up in all departments but it’s the midfield in particular where the Villans are down to the bare bones. Rising stars Jonathan Hogg, Barry Bannan and Marc Albrighton have all shown enough to suggest bright futures lay ahead but the more immediate concern will be containing Arsenal’s finally tuned midfield.
The midfield battle is one area where the Gunners can exert some dominance. They’re no old-timers themselves but already they have amassed the experience to make life very difficult for Villa’s youngsters. Again, they should be capable of creating enough chances to fire Arsenal to victory.
With Marouane Chamakh already shaping up to claim ‘Signing of the Season’ honours you could do worse than backing him as first goalscorer at 11/2. His physicality will make him a real handful for Villa’s powerful centre backs while his clever movement will give them plenty of headaches on the ground.
With regards to more speculative bets, there is one that stands out. Although there’s a sizeable gap in terms of league position and points, Villa and Arsenal are more evenly matched if you take heed of results at half time. If games were ended after the first 45 minutes, Villa would be on the cusp of the Champions League places. Obviously the tradition of playing a further 45 minutes renders that stat virtually pointles but it does suggest Villa struggle at holding on to a lead. That makes the double result of Aston Villa at half time and Arsenal at full time at 22/1 a very interesting proposition.
(source www.arsenal.com)
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