Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has one or two crucial decisions to make when his side aim to better their abysmal record against Unai Emery and Aston Villa last season.
Arsenal were exceptional for the majority of the campaign, but failed to take a single point in two meetings with Emery.
Arsenal lost 1-0 at Villa Park in December, and their 1-2 defeat at the Emirates a few months later is likely still fresh in the memory for a lot of the club’s supporters.
That being said, Arsenal look fresh and remotivated this year, and beating Villa would be a huge psychological boost ahead of the north London derby to come.
In terms of his team, Arteta may decide to name an unchanged eleven to the one which beat Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-0 last Saturday, however TBR Football are predicting two significant changes.
First of all, despite playing well against Wolves, Arteta could drop Oleksandr Zinchenko to the bench, who has often struggled in big away games.
Arsenal could drop Oleksandr Zinchenko and Gabriel Martinelli against Aston Villa
Darren Bent previously described Zinchenko as a ‘liability’, and if Arteta decides to drop the him then he has two possible options to replace the £30m-defender.
Either Riccardo Calafiori or Jurrien Timber could come in, and we think it’ll be the latter as long he’s fully fit.
Timber would offer Arsenal similar control to Zinchenko on the ball, but may then also prove more effective in one versus one situations.
Elsewhere, it’s a toss up between Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard on the left-wing.
Martinelli has looked lively and willing in recent games at the Emirates, but Arteta may choose Trossard’s end product in a game of such small margins.
And although he’s likely to retain his place, Arteta may also be tempted to drop Thomas Partey as his number six.
Partey enjoyed some excellent moments against Wolves, but his performance was undone by some unnecessarily sloppy passes, ones that may tempt Arteta to turn to Jorginho.
However, the Italian hasn’t played many minutes in recent matches, and may be deemed a bit behind in terms of match sharpness.
That being said, an exciting Arsenal youngster was spotted in training ahead of Saturday’s big kick off.
