Arsenal v Aston Villa: Key stats and talking points

3 hours ago 1

League leaders Arsenal and third-placed Aston Villa face each other 24 days after the reverse fixture, which was won by the Birmingham side with the final kick of the game.

That's Arsenal's only defeat in their past 24 fixtures in all competitions but Villa could go level on points with the Gunners by earning a club record 12th successive victory.

Nervy times for Arsenal but defensive resilience remains

Arsenal head coach Mikel Arteta has called for composure from his side after they were made "to suffer" against Brighton. The Gunners have not been at their fluent best in recent weeks but were in control on Saturday at 2-0 up with more than an hour gone.

Nervousness spread from the stands to the pitch after Diego Gomez halved the deficit and it took an outstanding save from David Raya at full stretch to prevent Yankuba Minteh from equalising.

Arsenal, though, closed out the final 19 minutes, including stoppages, without facing another effort on their goal. It has been a feature of Arsenal's season - they are allowing their opponents the third fewest shots on target of any Premier League team on record.

The image displays a statistical table from the BBC and Opta, highlighting the top five defensive records in Premier League history since data collection began in 2003-04, measured by the fewest shots on target faced per game. The data shows Arsenal's 2025-26 team is on track for a top-three finish in this metric.
Best Defensive Records: Chelsea's 2004-05 season and Manchester City's 2018-19 season currently hold the joint-best record, both facing an average of 2.18 shots on target per game.
Arsenal's Current Season: Arsenal's 2025-26 season is currently in third place with an average of 2.22 shots on target faced per game.
Historical Context: The table also includes Liverpool's 2007-08 season (2.29) and Arsenal's 2023-24 season (2.29).
Source: The statistics are sourced from Opta and cover data since the 2003-04 season.

That defensive parsimony has come despite a revolving door of injuries. Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori were the latest absentees against Brighton, meaning Declan Rice had to fill in at right-back. Nonetheless, Arsenal ended the game with their exalted centre-back partnership of William Saliba and Gabriel in tandem for the first time in seven weeks following the latter's return from injury as a substitute.

The most shots on target faced by Arsenal in a league game this season is six during that last-gasp defeat at Villa Park when neither Saliba nor Gabriel were available.

Rejuvenated Villa's record run

Unai Emery is barely a footnote in Arsenal's history despite a 55% win rate during his 18 months in charge but he is masterminding one of the most impressive periods for Villa in more than a century.

While the Spaniard has predictably played down Villa's title credentials, a 10-point gap over fifth-placed Chelsea after the weekend win at Stamford Bridge has at least put them in a strong position to earn Champions League qualification for the second time in three seasons.

That seemed unthinkable after a five-match winless start to the current campaign left Emery's side in the relegation zone. Twelve wins in 13 league games have followed, including a current run of eight in a row – the club's best since a nine-match streak in 1910.

With 11 straight wins across all competitions, Villa have equalled a club record previously achieved in 1897 and 1914.

They have come from behind in all five of their away league victories this season. That is no anomaly under Emery, earning a league-high 54 points from losing positions across the past three seasons, including 18 in 2025-26.