Aston Villa’s upward trajectory under manager Unai Emery is no surprise to Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta who said yesterday he is expecting a tough game when he takes his Premier League leaders to Villa Park today.
Villa, who put in a dominant performance in their 1-0 victory over champions Manchester City on Wednesday, are up to third in the league. They have won 14 straight Premier League games at Villa Park and have also qualified for the knockout stage of the Europa Conference League. Speaking ahead of today’s game, Arteta lavished praise on former Arsenal manager Emery, telling reporters: “I think you have to give huge credit to them and Unai and the coaching staff.
“They are going to be a tough opponent and it is one of my favourite grounds...(It’s) no surprise. I have followed him since he was coach of Almeria and what he has done at every team is remarkable. He has always improved the players, the team and the club. He is Basque like I am. I really admire him. I am really happy for him.”
Arteta will not be on the touchline for the match, with the Spaniard serving a ban following his third booking of the season.
“I think I am in the Directors’ Box, I don’t know, it is a discussion we will have later on. But let’s see, hopefully I will have a really nice view,” Arteta said.
League leaders Arsenal are one of the few teams in the top-flight enjoying a better run of form than Villa, and the north-London outfit enter the match on the back of four straight wins, the last of which was a seven-goal thriller at Luton Town. Declan Rice’s header deep in stoppage time sealed that victory, with Arteta saying that his side’s willingness to fight until the end was proof of their title credentials. Arteta said Thomas Partey would not be available for selection, but added that the midfielder was recovering well from his thigh injury.
Klopp happy with Liverpool’s progress after team rebuild
Jurgen Klopp said he is happy with the progress of his rebuilt Liverpool team as they bid to go top at Crystal Palace today. Liverpool’s midfield was remodelled following a disappointing campaign last season, with a series of big-name players leaving the club, including captain Jordan Henderson and Fabinho.
Dominik Szoboszlai, Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Wataru Endo have all arrived at Anfield, adding fresh energy to a side that looked past its best. If Liverpool beat Palace in the early kick-off today they will replace Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table, at least for a few hours.
Klopp said he did not plan for exactly where his team would be in early December, but he was pleased with their development, saying team spirit had been forged in moments of adversity. “I wanted to create with the boys a basis early on in pre-season, through the pre-season, then to become a real team you have to overcome difficulties,” he said.
“We got that delivered with red cards, stuff like this, being 1-0 down, being down in games when we could overcome that so that definitely speeded the process up but I have no clue where we would have been without that. I’m just happy with the development up until this point. We had to replace a few of the strongest characters in world football -- did that with a few of the strongest characters in world football. Our new leadership group are all experienced world-class footballers so that’s helpful, with a real understanding of a team dynamic.”
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola says Manchester City’s recent slump has delivered a much-needed reality check as he prepares for tomorrow’ match at lowly Luton. Guardiola said he and his treble-winning players had enjoyed being stroked “like a cat” for too long during their period of domination and they “needed a shake”. City are winless run in the Premier League to four games and pushed them down to fourth in the table. Guardiola’s men, chasing an unprecedented fourth consecutive top-flight title, are now six points behind Arsenal.
FixturesToday (1500 GMT unless stated): Aston Villa v Arsenal (1730), Brighton v Burnley, Crystal Palace v Liverpool (1230), Manchester United v Bournemouth, Sheffield United v Brentford, Wolves v Nottingham Forest
Tomorrow (1400 GMT unless stated): Everton v Chelsea, Fulham v West Ham, Luton v Manchester City, Tottenham v Newcastle (1630)