🕟 Kick Off: 20:15 GMT

🏟️ Venue: Emirates Stadium

📺 UK Broadcaster: Sky Sports

🙎🏻‍♂️ Referee: Darren England

📹 VAR: Jarred Gillett

🔴 Arsenal Team News:

• Riccardo Calafiori: New injury concern; forced to withdraw from the starting XI during the warm-up against Brighton on Dec 27. He is a major doubt for the match against Aston Villa tomorrow.
• Jurrien Timber: Knock/Ankle; sustained an “awkward landing” in the Carabao Cup win over Crystal Palace. Missed the Brighton match and is being assessed daily ahead of the Villa game.
• Kai Havertz: Knee injury; back in full training and was “quite close” to the Brighton squad. Expected to be in the matchday squad for Aston Villa on Dec 30.
• Gabriel Martinelli: Minor knock; picked up against Crystal Palace. He was fit enough for the bench against Brighton but did not feature; expected to be available but may start on the bench.
• Ben White: Hamstring strain; continues his recovery. He remains sidelined for the immediate future with a targeted return in mid-January 2026.
• Cristhian Mosquera: Ankle injury; described as a “complicated” recovery process. He is expected to be out until mid-to-late January 2026.
• Max Dowman: Ankle ligament damage; the 15-year-old remains a long-term absentee. Expected return remains early February 2026.

⚽ Arsenal Form: 🟩🟧🟩🟩🟩

🦁 Aston Villa Team News:

• Ross Barkley: Knee injury; sustained a sprain during the victory over Wolves. Ruled out for the long-term, with an expected return in February 2026.
• Tyrone Mings: Thigh/Hamstring injury; currently in individual training as he nears the end of his recovery. Ruled out for the Arsenal match; expected return in early January 2026.
• Pau Torres: Calf injury; nearing a return but the Arsenal match is expected to come slightly too soon. Targeted return for the next fixture in early January 2026.
• Harvey Elliott: Illness; currently being monitored by the medical staff. He remains a doubt for the match against Arsenal tomorrow.
• Evann Guessand: Unavailable; away on international duty with Ivory Coast for the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
• Matty Cash: Unavailable; serving a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Chelsea.
• Boubacar Kamara: Unavailable; serving a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season against Chelsea.

⚽ Aston Villa Form: 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

⚔️ Head-to-Head:

• Aston Villa 2-1 Arsenal (December 6, 2025, Premier League)
• Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa (January 18, 2025, Premier League)
• Aston Villa 0-2 Arsenal (August 24, 2024, Premier League)
• Arsenal 0-2 Aston Villa (April 14, 2024, Premier League)
• Aston Villa 1-0 Arsenal (December 9, 2023, Premier League)

📖 Match Facts:

• Aston Villa arrives at the Emirates on an 11-match winning streak across all competitions, tying a club record that has stood since 1914.
• A Villa win would see them level on points with Arsenal going into the new year, with City facing Sunderland away, the table coming out of this gameweek is pretty unpredictable.
• Arsenal have won 4 of their last 5 final calendar year games in the league, compared to Villa who have just 2 wins out of 13.

✍🏼 Pre-Match Ramblings

Arsenal face the most in form team in Europe in their final game of the calendar year as they face Aston Villa for the second time in December. A heartbreaking last second goal sealed three points for Emery’s Villa at Villa Park earlier this month in a result that dragged Arsenal into an uncomfortable three way fight for the title. A win for Arsenal is absolutely vital here to undo the damage caused by the earlier defeat and regain some of the space between 1st and 3rd.

Aston Villa have scored 13 goals in their last 5 matches, which is a stat that is worrying given our recent leakiness in defense. Arsenal haven’t kept a clean sheet at home since facing Brentford on the 3rd of December. Emery will be smelling blood here, and he always comes to the Emirates with a point to prove after his failed stint as Arsenal head coach.

Villa has a lengthy list of absentees with two players facing disciplinary bans. Arsenal have also been served with some fresh injuries in Calafiori and Timber; the one in one out policy seems to be going strong. Gabriel may see his first start since his injury 6 weeks ago whilst playing for Brazil. This team has greatly missed the defensive pairing that has been so dependable over the last few years. Hincapie has done well but there aren’t many defenders in the world that can live up to the abilities of Gabriel.