Match day, Arsenal at Villa Park and match facts from the BBC

I think it interesting that the managers of the top three sides in the Premier League are all Spanish. It's even more interesting and I might have this wrong because I've just quickly scanned the table, there are only five English managers and only one in the top half.

What is it that they do in Spain that we're not doing here and why is it so tough to catch up?

It's also quite interesting that since we came back to the Premier League in 2019, we've won five of our last 12 Premier League games against Arsenal, drawing one and losing six. It suggests it's a fairly even battle.

And that's why today is going to be a tough match. Arsenal are top of the table and they're not looking like they're going to bottle it any time soon, although by the end of the season, not even Arsenal fans would be surprised if they did and while we're looking very solid and have something extra about us, we do look like we could concede quite easily.

But it's that something extra about us that gives us an opportunity today. We're looking better than we have done for a long time and dare I say it, it's that Arsenal will bottle it at some stage this season, so why not today?

There is every chance I'll get into trouble for this, because the chances of a side bottling it today are probably greater that it's us. But and just like every Arsenal fan thinks that this is their season, there will come a time when we don't bottle it and we win these matches and we know this, because we have and we do.

The performances against Brighton the other night showed that. And we can look back to many matches under this manager to know, it's less about bottling it and more about the plan for that match not going the way we would have liked and a lot of the time, that's down to the opposition.

And that's why today is such a big match. Win this and we are three points behind the leaders. Lose it and we could be a lot closer to dropping out of the top four. And please note as I just wrote, even if we do lose we will remain in the top four. That's very impressive considering the start to the season we had. 

But it also shouldn't be a comfort blanket for us. Everyone is watching today and we have an opportunity to show that we should be taken more seriously that some are taking us. And this isn't me saying we're going to win the League, it's me saying we have become a very decent side under this manager and we are not getting the attention we deserve.

Back in a bit.

Match facts from the BBC

• Since their return to the competition in 2019, Aston Villa have won five of their 12 Premier League games against Arsenal (D1 L6), as many as they had in their previous 45 against the Gunners before relegation (D14 L26).

• At no away ground have Arsenal won more Premier League games than they have against Aston Villa at Villa Park (15, level with Selhurst Park).

• Since their return to the Premier League in 2019, Aston Villa have lost six of their eight games against sides starting the day top of the table (W1 D1). However, their only win in this run came at home to Arsenal in December 2023.

• Since losing this exact fixture in August last season, Aston Villa have lost just one of their last 25 Premier League home games (W16 D8). They’ve won each of their last five at Villa Park since going down 3-0 against Crystal Palace in August.

• Arsenal have lost just one of their last 21 Premier League away games (W11 D9), going down 1-0 at Liverpool in August. Each of their last three away defeats have been to nil, with the Gunners unbeaten in 30 on the road when scoring at least once in the match (W21 D9).

• Eight of Arsenal’s last 13 Premier League away goals have been headers, including six of their nine on the road this season. Meanwhile, four of the last six home goals Aston Villa have conceded in the Premier League have been headed, including each of the last three in a row.

• Since the start of March, no side has won more Premier League games than Aston Villa (16, level with Manchester City). The Villans have won eight of their last nine league games, with the exception a 2-0 loss at Liverpool in November.

• Arsenal haven’t conceded more than twice in any of their last 108 games in all competitions, the outright longest run of any team in English football league history surpassing Manchester United’s 107 between 2016 and 2018.

• Of the 40 managers to have taken charge of 100+ Premier League away games, Mikel Arteta has the fourth highest win rate (53% - won 59/112). Indeed, he’s one of only five to have won more than half of their 100+ away games along with Pep Guardiola, Alex Ferguson, Jürgen Klopp and José Mourinho.

• Ollie Watkins scored twice in Aston Villa’s 4-3 win over Brighton last time out, having netted just twice in his previous 18 Premier League games. The striker also has six goals in 10 Premier League games against Arsenal, only netting more against Brighton (9).