Arsenal has the chance to make it five wins from five on Wednesday night as the Gunners host a struggling Aston Villa side in the Premier League.
A late goal from Gabriel following Martin Odegaard’s leveler saw Arsenal come from a goal behind to beat Fulham 2-1 at the Emirates on the weekend, putting Mikel Arteta‘s side two points clear at the top of the Premier League table. The victory means Arsenal is the only side in England’s top four divisions with a 100% winning record.
At home for the second consecutive game, Arsenal faces Aston Villa, with Steven Gerrard’s side currently 15th in the table with one win from four. The last meeting between these two sides saw the Gunners win 1-0 thanks to a Bukayo Saka goal.
After coming into the squad against Fulham to replace the injured Thomas Party, Mohamed Elneny is set for a lengthy period on the sidelines, leaving Arteta short of options in midfield. After missing the game last weekend, both Party and Oleksandr Zinchenko will be absent once again.
So, how could the Gunners line up against Villa? Could Arteta’s side make it five wins from five? We simulated the clash to try and find out.
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 22 and updated the squads with the latest transfers. Due to FIFA 22 not having the latest kits, both sides lined up in the kits for the 2021/22 season.
We predict that Arsenal could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ramsdale; White, Saliba, Gabriel, Tierney; Sambi Lokonga, Xhaka, Odegaard; Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
We then predict that Villa could set up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Martinez; Cash, Mings, Konsa, Digne; Luiz, McGinn, Kamara; Watkins, Ings, Coutinho.
With some key players missing, Arsenal took a while to find their tempo against Villa and struggled to create chances in the opening stages. Towards the end of the second half is where the Gunners found their feet, and the home side took the lead after 37 minutes through Gabriel Jesus.
The Brazilian received the ball with his back to goal just inside the box, and Jesus brilliantly scooped the ball to his side to create space for a shot in a tight area. The striker then took aim at goal with a poor strike, but Emiliano Martinez failed to deal with the effort as the ball flew past the ex-Arsenal ‘keeper.
Almost straight at Martinez, the Villa ‘keeper should’ve done better with the effort. Arsenal continued to control the game after taking the lead, focusing more on controlling possession than going for a second goal.
As the game went on, Villa found themselves growing into the contest with Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey both testing Aaron Ramsdale late on. With six minutes remaining, the ‘keeper was forced into a fantastic save to deny Jacob Ramsey.
A cross into the box from Matty Cash was met at the near post by Ramsey, with his momentum helping him leap higher than his marker and meet the ball. His header looked destined for the top corner, but a brilliant diving save from Ramsale denied the youngster and secured a 1-0 win for Arsenal.
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 22 predicts that Arsenal could face one of their toughest tests of the season against Aston Villa, but their quality in front of goal proved the difference as they secured a 1-0 win. A very even game, it may come down to individual quality in attacking situations on Wednesday night.
Source By: https://www.football.london/arsenal-fc/news
