Aston Villa face Arsenal in the Premier League on Tuesday night, and Unai Emery has named his starting line-up for the encounter.
Villa arrive at the Emirates looking to secure a 12th consecutive win across all competitions, a result that would also move us level in the standings with the Gunners after 19 games.
However, Emery and the players will be fully aware of the difficult test that awaits them in north London, as we look to not only try to keep our winning momentum going, but also attempt to get the better of a side battling for the league title this season.
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Both Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara miss out due to suspension and so changes were certainly expected, and as per the club’s post below, Emery has made five in total to the side that defeated Chelsea this past weekend.
Lamare Bogarde and Amadou Onana come in to replace Cash and Kamara respectively, while Lucas Digne, Jadon Sancho and Ollie Watkins replace Ian Maatsen, John McGinn and Donyell Malen.
With those tweaks, Emery will hope that we can put in a solid defensive display to give ourselves a foundation to go out and win the game, while it’s a big night for Sancho getting his first league start for Villa, and after making an encouraging impression off the bench against Chelsea, he’ll hope to really step up now and play a more prominent role heading into the second half of the campaign.
It does come as a surprise to see McGinn drop out given his energy and tenacity in midfield could be key in this game, but ultimately Emery has his gameplan to defeat Arsenal, and it’s hoped that we’re able to return home with all three points.
Your Villa XI tonight 🫡#ARSAVL pic.twitter.com/BEE2P8XnsW
— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 30, 2025
