Our tipster reckons it could be a long night for Emery’s men…
To quote Will from the Inbetweeners… ‘Well, that was dreadful’. And yes, we may have missed a word there, but you can work that out for yourselves at home.
Either way, if you’re an Aston Villa fan, you’re going through it at the moment. Unai Emery’s men sit bottom of the Premier League after a first-half mauling at Brighton on the opening weekend and they’re losing key players by the day, it seems.
Blame PSR, blame the solar eclipse, blame the club’s transfer strategy… regardless, it’s exactly what wasn’t needed ahead of the visit of reigning champions Arsenal. Then again, a Villa win over the Gunners would more than make amends for that south coast horror show.
After sweeping aside a clearly outclassed Coventry side, Arsenal themselves will be looking to avenge a 2-1 defeat in last season’s corresponding fixture at Villa Park.
So, who’s winning this time? Our tipster James Walters weighs in with his tidy Aston Villa v Arsenal Bet Builder. His selections include player picks covered by Paddy’s Super Sub offer, too, huzzah!
Aston Villa v Arsenal Bet Builder tips
Arsenal to win
Aston Villa goalkeeper to make 3 or more saves
Over 4.5 Arsenal corners
Over 3.5 cards
Matty Cash to commit 1 or more fouls
John McGinn to be fouled 2 or more times
A Bet Builder with these selections pays approximately 14/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP
WHEN: Monday, 31st August 2026 @ 8pm
WHERE: Villa Park, Birmingham
TV: Sky Sports Main Event
Arsenal to win
Arsenal breezed past Coventry in their Premier League opener – as they should have done – and you’d be brave to back against the Gunners on Monday night (and in the title race this season).
Arteta’s men have already lifted the Community Shield and they’ll fancy their chances of scooping more silverware this time out.
Arsenal are solid at the back – and former Villa man Ezri Konsa improves them in William Saliba’s absence through injury – and they’re relentless going forward. If the Gunners don’t break you down in open play, they’ll wear you down from set pieces.
Villa had a horrible start to the campaign last week against Brighton, and it’s been a turbulent couple of months with Emery losing the spine of his team in Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Konsa, with Ollie Watkins and Emi Martinez also heading for the exit.
The Villa side we saw against Brighton won’t be a true reflection of their season, and they’ll improve, but it’s hard to see Emery’s side bouncing back against the title favourites. We’re on an Arsenal win.
Aston Villa goalkeeper to make 3 or more saves
Emi Martinez is out of the picture, but whether it’s Marco Bizot or Emery’s new signing Zion Suzuki, the Villa goalkeeper will be busy on Monday night.
Bizot was in goal for the Brighton defeat, and he made three saves as Villa gave up 17 shots, with six of them going on target.
Arsenal will have more of the ball and they’ll be probing the Villa defence. Expect to see the Gunners penning Emery’s men in as they move the ball from side to side before making the killer pass.
Arsenal had 19 shots and six on target against Coventry, so we’re keen on the Aston Villa goalkeeper to make 3 or more saves.
Over 4.5 Arsenal corners
Arsenal were the corner kings last season, with Arteta’s men utilising them brilliantly to score a record 19 Premier League goals.
The Gunners had eight corners against Coventry and as we’re expecting Arsenal to pen Villa in, it’ll likely lead to plenty of shots, deflections and corners.
The north London side averaged 5.7 corners per game last season and that trend should continue this campaign. Over 4.5 Arsenal corners on Monday night is the play.
Over 3.5 cards
We may only be in the second week of the Premier League, but this is a pretty crucial game for both sides.
A heavy defeat for Villa piles the pressure on Emery’s already-deflated side, while a win will help forget about the Brighton defeat, and the Villans can draw a line through last weekend’s loss.
Arsenal will be well aware that a victory would be a statement that Arteta’s side have improved from last season and they’re fully prepared to defend their title.
Given that, we like over 3.5 cards. Villa’s game at Brighton saw six cards given out and there were still two yellows in Arsenal’s routine win against Coventry.
Emery will have his Villa team fired up to face his former side, so expect plenty of tackles flying in.
Matty Cash to commit 1 or more fouls
When we talk about making a tasty challenge, Villa’s Matty Cash is near the top of the list in that department.
He’s a no-messing defender and although he likes to fly forward to help Villa attack, the right-back can’t resist a big tackle.
The Poland international will be up against Arsenal’s new man Christos Tzolis, who was fouled twice last week while looking lively on his league debut for the Gunners.
Cash committed two fouls and made two tackles against Brighton and it won’t be an easy task against Tzolis, who likes to run at his man before cutting inside and getting an effort off. We’re on Cash to commit 1 or more fouls.
John McGinn to be fouled 2 or more times
It was a horrible day for Villa at Brighton and their skipper John McGinn tried his best on the right wing to get them up the pitch by taking his man on and drawing savvy fouls.
McGinn was fouled four times last weekend and he’ll likely be utilising similar tactics against Arsenal to give the Villa defence a bit of rest.
The Scottish midfielder will be aiming to win a few free kicks on the right side of the park. Given the fact that he was fouled an average of 1.6 times per game in the league last season, McGinn to be fouled 2 or more times is a nice pick to wrap up our Bet Builder.
Aston Villa v Arsenal tips
Arsenal to win
Aston Villa goalkeeper to make 3 or more saves
Over 4.5 Arsenal corners
Over 3.5 cards
Matty Cash to commit 1 or more fouls
John McGinn to be fouled 2 or more times
A Bet Builder with these selections pays approximately 14/1 with Paddy Power. CLICK OR TAP HERE TO ADD IT TO YOUR BETSLIP
*All prices are bang up to date with our snazzy widgets, while odds in copy are accurate at time of publishing but subject to change.
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