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Predicted Arsenal line-up against Aston Villa

By on December 30, 2025

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Arsenal are set to welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates Stadium in a crucial Premier League fixture tonight.

The Gunners are currently at the top of the table with 42 points from 18 games, sitting just two points ahead of second-placed Manchester City.

On the other hand, despite enduring a difficult start to this season, Aston Villa have forced their way into the conversation to win the Premier League, having won the last eight consecutive league matches. They are currently third in the table with 39 games.

Arsenal lost the reverse game 2-1 at Villa Park earlier this month, and if they fail to beat Unai Emery’s side in this fixture, it will allow Man City to go top with a victory over Sunderland.

Team news

Cristhian Mosquera and Ben White are expected to be unavailable for selection tonight owing to their respective injury problems. Moreover, Kai Havertz has returned to full training after recovering from his injury, but this game may come too early for him to feature.

Jurrien Timber picked up an injury vs Crystal Palace last week and couldn’t feature vs Brighton, so he is in doubt. On the other hand, Riccardo Calafiori sustained an issue in warm-up against the Seagulls and may not be able to feature tonight.

However, Gabriel Magalhaes returned last weekend after remaining sidelined over the last few weeks due to a muscular problem. So, he is ready to start once again.

Predicted line-up

David Raya is set to be in goal following a brilliant display last time out. William Saliba and Gabriel Magalhaes could be the centre-back pairing, while Piero Hincapié should be the left-back. If Timber can’t recover in time, Declan Rice would continue in the right-back position.

Martin Zubimendi is likely to be the deep-lying playmaker, while Mikel Merino should be the box-to-box midfielder if Rice starts in defence. Martin Odegaard would be the creative midfielder for the Gunners.

Bukayo Saka could be on the right flank, and Leandro Trossard might be on the left. Viktor Gyokeres is likely to keep hold of his place in the centre-forward position; in that case, Noni Madueke, Gabriel Martinelli, and Gabriel Jesus would feature off the bench.

Expected Arsenal line-up vs Aston Villa

Raya; Rice; Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapié; Zubimendi, Merino, Odegaard; Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard

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