David Raya was a standout for Arsenal against Wolves – will he be expected to do the same against Aston Villa? — Reuters
FOLLOWING an eventful opening weekend of the new Premier League season, we could well be in for another dose of classic English football when Arsenal visit Aston Villa today.
This fixture gets the top billing of our featured matches, and not only because it’s a case of two Premiership teams who will be in the Champions League this season. They finished the last campaign second and fourth on the log.
It’s more than that. The two managers of these sides – Villa’s Unai Emery and the Gunners’ Mikel Arteta – are among the more entertaining leaders in the league. They each have their own style of flamboyant football and both are highly rated, with much expected of them by their fans and clubs.
Emery, himself an Arsenal manager (May 2018 to November 2019), did wonders for Villa last term and highlighted it with their first qualification for the Champions League.
He has made several changes to his side in the off-season – focusing on youth.
Notably, Moussa Diaby left for Al Ittihad in a £50mil transfer and Douglas Luiz joined Juventus for £42.35mil.
Among those incoming were Amadou Onana from Everton for £50mil and Ian Maatsen from Chelsea for £37.6mil.
It’s much too early to say what sort of impact any of them might have, but Villa did get off to a decent start, seeing off West Ham in London.
Jhon Duran, who was reportedly keen on a move to the Hammers last month, knocked home the winner to add a bit of spice to the clash.
It will be interesting to see how they fare against a side that some say will win the league this season.
Arsenal did run Manchester City close last season, coming within a point of Pep Guardiola’s champions.
They similarly made a good start last weekend, chalking up a clean sheet in the win over Wolves.
Arteta, held in high esteem at the Emirates, where it is expected that he will have no issues extending his contract in the not-too-distant future, will not want to lose this one, more so against a top-four outfit.
Goalkeeper David Raya Martin was monumental against Wolves, following his permanent move from London rivals Bournemouth.
That inspiration will no doubt spread through a side that should have greater belief than the past two seasons, when they were runners-up to City.
Kai Havertz came in for some praise from Arteta after the Wolves win. And his contribution to the team could prove crucial to how they perform overall.
Villa would know this and might yet formulate a plot to smother the German’s advances.
The arrival of Italian defender Riccardo Calafiori from Bologna is also a welcome addition to the Gunners, who otherwise have a well-rounded and balanced squad – indeed, one capable of making their mark as contenders again.
If there was an area of concern, it might be that which was again raised on the eve of the new season, questioning whether Arteta has enough in his side to put together a sustained challenge for the title.
The answer to that question, according to their faithful, is that they do have enough class.
But only time will tell if that is so, and against Villa at Villa Park, we may get a hint or two as to where they really are.
Bournemouth, who held Nottingham Forest to a draw on the opening day, are down to host Newcastle United.
The big-spending Magpies were way off expectations last season, coming after they qualified for the Champions League in the season prior.
This term, Eddie Howe will be keen on holding things together much better and hope for fewer injuries – the bane of their campaign last term.
A narrow 1-0 win over promoted Southampton last weekend came after they were reduced to 10 men – Fabian Schar was given his marching orders for headbutting.
Against Bournemouth, Newcastle will be expected to win handsomely, or at the very least, take all three points.
Early season setbacks will only serve to undermine Howe’s ambitions of taking them back into the top four.
