Arsenal V Aston Villa

Arsenal V Aston Villa

Date & Kick-Off: Sunday, 29 January 2012 – 16:00 GMT

Venue: Emirates Stadium

FA Cup, Fourth Round

Preview

The final FA Cup Fourth-Round tie of the weekend is an all Premiership affair as Aston Villa, buoyed by their 3-2 victory over local rivals Wolves, head to north London to tackle an out of form Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium – where the Villains recorded a 2-1 win on their last visit, on the final day of last season. You’ll get handsome odds on a repeat, mind.

Only eleven-time winners Manchester United have lifted the FA Cup more times than Arsenal (10), whose most recent triumph in this competition was in 2005 when they beat the aforementioned on penalties at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium. They’re 15/2 third-favourites to claim their eleventh honour, which looks a precarious bet considering they are by no means guaranteed to be in Sunday’s Fifth-Round draw.

You’d think a home draw would be beneficial. It should; the Gunners have only lost three times at their swanky Emirates home all season (W13 D3 L3 in all competitions) – though their most recent occurred just seven days ago, to Manchester United, and it was preceded by league defeats away to Fulham and Swansea, which came either side of a nervy and unconvincing performance against Leeds in the third round. They prevailed, of course, otherwise we wouldn’t be talking about them now.

It was fans favourite and club legend Thierry Henry who sparred Arsenal’s blushes in the previous round, coming off the bench to score the only goal of the game on his return following the completion of his loan deal from MLS club New York Red Bulls. The Frenchman is however doubtful for Sunday meaning Arsene Wenger has little choice but to start Robin Van Persie, the prolific but injury prone Dutchman who has been rapped up in cotton wool on occasions this season.

Being without Thierry Henry is the least of Arsene Wenger’s problems. Once again the Gunners tactician will be shorn of key players – in defence especially – with Kieran Gibbs, Andre Santos, Carl Jenkinson, Jack Wilshere, Abou Diaby, Gervinho and Marouane Chamakh all unavailable. There is some good news, though – Mikel Arteta should return to partner Alex Song and Aaron Ramsey in midfield while there may even be a place on the bench for Bacary Sagna, the full-back who has spent the past three months recovering from a broken ankle.

Once again Arsene Wenger may have to select four central defenders in defence, meaning there will be two makeshift full-backs on the pitch. That could be a crucial factor in determining who progresses, as Villa do boast ample pace on the flanks. Charles N’Zogbia has been ruled out but Gabriel Agbonlahor is available and he along with Marc Albrighton will look to terrorise this unconvincing Gunners rearguard that has shipped seven goals in its last three Premier League games.

Up front for the visitors meanwhile will be the resurgent pairing of Darren Bent and Robbie Keane, with the pair accounting for all three of the team’s goals in last week’s 3-2 win at Midlands rivals Wolves. Keane, on loan from MLS side LA Galaxy, bagged in a brace in that game. However all eyes will be on Darren Bent on Sunday, as it was his brace in last season’s corresponding fixture which earned Villa a shock 2-1 victory at the Emirates.

Match Pointers

- In order to get this far, Arsenal had to overcome Leeds at home (1-0) while Aston Villa faced opposition from League Two in Bristol Rovers (1-3).

- Arsenal were 2-1 victors when the two sides met at Villa Park in the Premier League in December, reversing Villa’s 2-1 victory at the Emirates on the final day of last season.

- Aston Villa have succumbed to defeat on just one of their previous five visits to North London to face Arsenal (W2 D2 L1 – Villa’s last five at Arsenal).

- Arsenal have now lost three league games on the spin following last week’s 2-1 home reverse to Manchester United, conceding seven times during this retched run.

- Alex McLeish’s Villa have incurred more defeats at home than they have on their travels in this season’s Premier League (Villa’s Away Record in PL: W3 D6 L2) – they’re also unbeaten in their last five away matches versus top flight opposition (W3 D2).

Betting

Arsenal’s reputation in the FA Cup has clearly gone before them, as no way are they 4/7 favourites here. They host this tie on the back of three successive league defeats, their record against Aston Villa is hardly a source of encouragement – they’ve only beat them once in their previous five meetings in north London, losing twice – while they’re still missing a host of key players, particularly in defence, where they are especially vulnerable having shipped seven in their previous three matches against Premier League opposition.

It’s alright pointing out the obvious, that Arsenal are once again understrength – as they’ve been for most of the season, but you can only oppose them with the right opponent. To their credit, they have coped admirably; they sit 5TH and are firmly in contention for a top-four finish, but they’re up against a team in Villa whose pace on the flanks willpose Arsenal’s makeshift full-backs all sorts of questions. Agbonlahor and Albrighton will be a constant threat out wide all afternoon and if they supply good service to the in-form strike duo of Robbie Keane and Darren Bent… you know the rest.

For me, Arsenal are ridiculous odds. As are Aston Villa, who should be a lot shorter than their 5/1 quote. Get on Alex McLeish’s resurgent Villains at staggering odds!

Prediction: Aston Villa to WIN @ 5/1 PaddyPower

Value Bet: Darren Bent to Score @ 9/4 Bet365

Match Odds

Arsenal – 8/13 Ladbrokes

Draw – 16/5 BetVictor

Aston Villa – 5/1 PaddyPower

Arsenal V Aston Villa

Date & Kick-Off: Sunday, 15 May 2011 – 16:00 (GMT)
Venue: Emirates Stadium
TV Coverage: Sky Sports HD1

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Preview

Yet another hugely disappointing campaign is drawing to a close and once again Arsenal are resigned to the fact that for a sixth consecutive season, no trophies were brought back to the Emirates Stadium by Arsene Wenger and his young Gunners. Just to compound matters, the club may even miss out on a top-three finish – with Manchester City now only two-points behind them in the table – meaning Arsenal’s summer respite will have to be cut short should they end the term in fourth, as that would lead to them contesting a Champions League qualifier at the beginning of August.

Rest assured, Arsene Wenger will be doing his utmost to ensure his side secure third-place, as he won’t want his players to arrive back in training earlier than his rivals. And the Gunners are in pole position to land third, though it basically sums up Arsenal’s season that with only two games to go all that is at stake is third place in the Barclay’s Premier League.

Sunday’s game is also an opportunity for the supporters, those who have stuck by their team of underachievers, to catch a final glimpse of their idols – and in some cases, it could quite literally be a ‘final glimpses.
 
Villa fans will have their chance to say their goodbyes next weekend, when they entertain Wigan Athletic at Villa Park, although I highly doubt they’ll stick around in their droves after the final whistle.

It has been a dismal season for the Villains, who are destined to finish a woeful league campaign in the bottom half of the table. But it could have been worse, a lot worse. Relegation was a real possibility at one stage, but fortunately the talent within the ranks did eventually shine, albeit it short bursts, to ensure the club didn’t suffer the catastrophe of relegation to the Championship.

Much of the blame for a drab campaign has fallen at manager Gerard Houllier’s lap, with the Frenchman unable to maintain the club’s trend of challenging for Europe. His predecessor, Martin O’Neill, came within a whisker of leading the club to the promised land of European football, the UEFA Champions League, so it’s somewhat understandable the fans are disappointed with how 2010/2011 panned out. But some of the players have to take the brunt of the blame – captain Stiliyan Petrov admitted as much, with the Bulgarian honest enough to admit that he and his team-mates have badly let the club and its supporters down this season.

Victory over Arsenal would at least give their supporters something to cheer about, and lord knows they could do with some positive news. Their 1-1 draw with relegation threatened Wigan last Saturday extended their run without winning to three games, their manager is once again having problems with his health while big names are rumoured to be on their way out in the summer, that despite reports suggesting midfielder Stewart Downing, who has been one of their stand-out performers this term but is a rumoured target of Liverpool’s, is in talks regarding a new contract.

However, Ashley Young’s future is still up in the air; yet another Liverpool target.

Villa have only won once away to Arsenal in the league in 18-years, though that specific triumph was only two seasons ago – it was actually the first time the Gunners had lost at their ten brand-spanking-new Emirates Stadium – while I think it’s fair to say that Arsene Wenger’s men are most certainly prime for the taking.

Just two wins from their last nine league games provides punters with the hard facts as to why Arsenal’s title bid never really materialized. They’ll also be wounded following last Sunday’s spanking by Stoke at the Brittania. At home, though, the Gunners remain a tough nut to crack – unbeaten since November in the league (11 games) – and they proved a point or two to us all when dispatching of champions-elect Manchester United two weeks ago.

There is no doubt Arsenal are vulnerable on paper, a team desperate for the season to reach its predictable conclusion, but even a half-hearted Arsenal should be too strong for a Villa side who haven’t travelled at all well all season. Houllier’s mean have won only three of their eighteen away league games this season, and it says all you need to know that their victims were Wolves, Wigan and West Ham, who are 17th, 19th and 20th respectively.

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Form

Arsenal – DDLWL (Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool, Tottenham 3-3 Arsenal, Bolton 2-1 Arsenal, Arsenal 1-0 Man Utd, Stoke 3-1 Arsenal)

Aston Villa – WWDLD (Aston Villa 1-0 Newcastle, West Ham 1-2 Aston Villa, Aston 1-1 Stoke, West Brom 2-1 Aston Villa, Aston Villa 1-1 Wigan)

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Head-to-Head

Arsenal wins: 18
Draws: 13
Aston Villa wins: 6

Last 5 Seasons

2010/2011: Aston Villa 2-4 Arsenal
2009/2010: Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal
2009/2010: Arsenal 3-0 Aston Villa
2008/2009: Aston Villa 2-2 Arsenal
2008/2009: Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa
2007/2008: Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa
2007/2008: Aston Villa 1-2 Arsenal
2006/2007: Aston Villa 0-1 Arsenal
2006/2007: Arsenal 1-1 Aston Villa

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Streaks & Trends

Aston Villa have won only once away to Arsenal in 18-years, with their record in north London against the Gunners during the Premier League era as follows: W3 D5 L10.

In all competitions, Arsenal have won just two of their last eleven matches (W2 D5 L4).

Also including all competitions, Arsenal haven’t lost at home since losing to their bitter north London rivals Tottenham back in November (W13 D5 L0) – during which they recorded wins over Chelsea in the league and Barcelona in Europe.

The Gunners have scored one goal or fewer in each of their last five home league games, scoring just three in that time.

A 2-1 defeat of rock-bottom West Ham is Aston Villa‘s only away victory in their last six, having won just three times away from home all season (W3 D5 L10).

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Value Bets

Arsenal to Score 4 or More Goals @ 4.50 PaddyPower

Arsenal could release a lot of pent-up frustration on Sunday, at home to one of the season’s poorest travellers. Only Blackburn Rovers have conceded more goals on their travels this season than Gerard Houllier’s side. That said, Arsenal have plundered a miserly three goals in their previous five league games at home.

Robin Van Persie First Goalscorer @ 4.50 WilliamHill

He recently set a new Premier League record for scoring in eight consecutive away matches, can Arsenal’s in-form Dutchman, who missed virtually the entire first half of the season, continue his purple patch with a goal at the Emirates on Sunday? He hasn’t scored from open play their since 12 February (5 games).

James Collins to Score @ 15.00 Bet365

No team has shipped more goals from set-pieces this season than Arsenal, who were blown away by Stoke’s aerial prowess last weekend.

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Match Prediction: Arsenal to WIN – 1.36 Bet365

There won’t be a team in the land more eager to book their summer vacations than Arsenal. Unfortunately, though, the Gunners still have important business to attend to, and that’s ensuring they finish third above Manchester City so that they don’t have to contend with a Champions League play-off in August, which would hamper their start to next season.

Moreover, this is their final match of 2010/2011 at the Emirates Stadium, and while it has been a thoroughly disappointing and forgettable season, the fans will nevertheless stay behind after the game as the players show their appreciation for their loyal support over another arduous campaign. I reckon they may even put on a show. After all, few teams have disappointed more than Arsenal this season, though one team who definitely qualify for this particular category are Aston Villa, whom faired miserably against the league’s elite, losing at Liverpool (3-0), Manchester City (4-0), Manchester United (3-1) and Tottenham (2-1), although their best performance did come in London, away at Chelsea (3-3). Food for thought, perhaps?

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Match Odds

Arsenal – 1.36 Bet365
Draw – 5.25 VictorChandler
Aston Villa – 9.00 BetFred

Arsenal V Aston Villa

Sunday 27^th December – 13:30 GMT

Arsenal

League Position: 3rd

Recent Form: LWWDW

Arsenal made an instant return to winning ways when they dispatched Hull City, winning 3-0 at The Emirates. However, it wasn’t a glorious display from the usual emphatic Gunners and more will be expected of them in arguably the weekend’s biggest clash as Arsenal entertain high flying Aston Villa in a game that produced a surprise in last season contest.

We’re sure Arsene Wenger hasn’t forgotten the last meeting between the two, if so we have every confidence that the travelling Villa contingent will remind him so on match day. At time when Villa were asking questions of the ‘Big Four’ they came up trumps at The Emirates, beating Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal by 2-0. That defeat won’t have been banished from the Arsenal players memory’s too easily and we expect the motive for Arsenal this weekend is revenge, especially as they failed to give Villa a dose of their own medicine in the reverse fixture, drawing 2-2 at Villa Park. 

Arsenal, with the possible exception of their draw at Burnley, appear to be over their small dip in form that occurred at the latter end of last month and have now gone a morale boosting four match unbeaten run consisting of three wins and one draw. Victories have come over Stoke City (2-0), Liverpool (1-2) and Hull City (3-0), whereas the draw came at Burnley (1-1), in a match Arsenal could have lost, so perhaps the point is more respectable than many would like to think at first glance.

However, this is now a crucial part of the season for the Gunners as it really could make of break their season as too many dropped points over the festive period could massively decrease their chances of regaining the title. They will need a improve greatly on their recent displays, though, as they’ve been well below par for some time now. However, like all great sides do, Arsenal have been chipping away and have been winning games despite not playing their usual fluent best. However, anything but perfection on Saturday could see them come a cropper, once again, against Aston Villa.

Arsenal’s record at home this season is superb and formidable at 7-0-1, with Arsenal yet to play out a draw. Their only defeat came against Chelsea, losing 3-0, in a match which seen Arsenal play their very worst thus far. However, they didn’t dwell on the defeat too much and have since bounced back with two wins over Stoke City (2-0) and Hull City (3-0), two sides who gained promotion to the Premiership last season. The wins were positives, as all wins are, but they weren’t against the toughest of opposition and this will be their biggest test since their failure at home to Chelsea.

Aston Villa

League Position: 4th

Recent Form: DWWWW

Martin O’Neill has turned Aston Villa into a dark horse this season as Villa slowly close the gap on the frontrunners and, in the process, continue to cement their top four stance. Villa, though, will now go into most games with the added pressure that they should win games now that they’ve over performed for the second season running. They were in a similar position last season and faltered, but with a year of experience now on their side, will Villa be good for their failed assault on the top four last season and give Arsenal the blues once again at The Emirates.

Aston Villa secured their first ever win in the Premiership over Arsenal last season and to achieve such a feat at The Emirates was a credit in itself. However, their performance that day was sublime, similar to the one that seen them beat Man Utd just a few weeks ago at Old Trafford, and Martin O’Neill will demand a similar display from his troopers this Sunday in a clash which is surely going to catch the eye of a fair few neutrals.

Villa are rapidly building up ahead of steam after going unbeaten in seven games following their nervy 1-0 victory at home to Stoke City last weekend. That not only maintained their unbeaten form but also took them to four straight wins in the league and has seen them close the gap on Chelsea to six points. However, they still have Tottenham breathing over their shoulders, with Villa just two points in front of Spurs, but a big win at The Emirates could very well see them go five points clear in fourth and leave the ball well and truly in their court as far as a top four finish goes, although there is still over half a season to go.

Villa had to work hard for the three points last Saturday in a game where Stoke harried them all over the pitch and caused them all sorts of problems at the back when the Potters did stride forward. However, once Villa took the lead they didn’t really look like relinquishing the points and a similar workmanlike performance is required at The Emirates if they want to build upon their three match unbeaten run on the road. Villa have also won back-to-games away from home, the second time they have done such a thing this season, but they fell to defeat when they attempted to make it three from three and so could a similar fate stike them down on Sunday?

Head-to-Head (Last 10):

Arsenal W: 5 Aston Villa W: 1 Draw: 4

It was plain sailing for Arsenal until they lost their first ever clash with Aston Villa last season. Villa beat Arsenal 2-0 at The Emirates to record their first victory over the Gunners but still look down the barrel in terms of such a domineering h2h record between them and Arsenal. The Gunners have failed to beat Villa in their previous three attempts, though, with their last success over Villa coming in December, 2007, winning 1-0 at Villa Park. However, Arsenal haven’t beaten Villa in the previous three meetings on home soil so perhaps Villa are becoming somewhat of a bogey team for the Gunners.

Match Verdict: Draw – 3.75 Boylesports

We wouldn’t dare split these two as we can’t. Arsenal’s home advantage should cancel out Villa’s vastly superior form heading into this fixture. If we were pushed into picking either side then it would be Aston Villa. They are a team in form, full of confidence, and playing some beautiful football. Arsenal, however, haven’t been up scratch of late but have been getting the right results and that’s always a good sign. It’s a tricky one, but the draw looks the safest bet as we cowardly sit on the fench.

Match Odds:

Arsenal – 1.73 SkyBet

Draw – 3.75 Boylesports

Aston Villa – 5.50 PaddyPower

SoccerBetting Value Tip: Agbonlahor + Fabregas BOTH to SCORE – 13.00 SkyBet