Tomorrow night, we travel to Villa Park in our penultimate league game of the season. We currently sit 10th in the table with Burnley overtaking us at the weekend. Villa are dangerously close to relegation as they remain three points adrift of safety sitting in 18th. It’s definitely a must-win game for Villa so they should be right up for it. To be honest, they’ve been poor all season and if they can’t rally together to put in a big performance to save themselves now, then quite frankly they deserve to go down. We really cannot afford to underestimate a desperate team such as Villa, as they surely will be fighting for their lives. Despite not having a lot to play for in the league, we shouldn't take our foot off the gas and lose momentum. It's imperative that we continue to play like we have been so that we are in form for the FA cup final in the coming weeks.
We are all in high spirits from the weekend, I just really hope we don’t get overconfident after beating arguably the two best European teams in the past two games. I highly doubt Arteta will let performance levels drop but wouldn’t it just be typical Arsenal if we lost. I just pray that was the mentality of the old regime and that Arteta won’t allow that to happen. Realistically, we can still get to 7th in the league which would be enough to get into Europe, albeit through some time consuming play-offs. That is of course if Wolves or Sheffield United slip up and allow us to sneak past them. If not, our best bet is to win the FA cup which guarantees a spot in the Europa League. If I’m speaking honestly, I’d rather not be in the Europa League as I feel it can be detrimental to our season next year with the extra travelling involved. However, I can understand that it would greatly boost finances and perhaps even be our best bet back into the Champions League next year.
It appears we will also have a major part to play in the outcome of the relegation battle involving Villa and Watford. While Bournemouth aren’t mathematically down, I can't see them surviving with one game to go. We face Watford in the final game of the season and depending on how results go, they could be craving a win. Speaking of Watford, I have no idea what the thinking was behind the sacking of Nigel Pearson yesterday. They were eight points adrift when he took over in December and he has guided them almost to safety. Now they’ve sacked him with two massive games yet to play! I think it's very harsh on a good manager. I won’t forget what he did for Arsenal when he beat Liverpool 3-0 back in February. Obviously, I have no knowledge of the goings on behind the scenes at Watford but I can’t see any benefit of sacking him now rather than the end of the season.
I would make a few changes for our game against Villa, only to ensure some players get suitably rested with big games coming up. The team I would select would be as follows (3-4-3)
Martinez
Obviously we’ll stick with Emi in goal as I cannot see Matt Macey coming in. Was excellent again against City, making a top save against Sterling that I failed to mention in my report yesterday. Sorry Emi.
Holding
Today's team news has officially ruled Mustafi out of contention for the game so I fully expect Holding to come in. Was solid against Liverpool and we’ll hope for the same again.
David Luiz
Luiz will play. Who else is going to play in the middle of a back three? Sokratis? Don’t think so. I wouldn’t be completely against seeing Xhaka play there, similar to what Wolves do with Connor Coady. However, he’s probably too valuable in midfield. Luiz plays.
Tierney
It will be difficult to drop Kieran considering the form he’s in. Plus, he seems a great athlete so probably won’t need a rest. One of the first names on the team sheet.
Cedric
I think Bellerin will be rested for this one with Cedric more than capable of filling in for him. Arguably stronger defensively, I have no issue with the former Southampton man coming in.
Torreira
I think Torreira has been really unlucky to be out of the side for so long but I can understand that with the form of Ceballos that it’s difficult to fit him in. I think Ceballos will be rested for this game and Torreira slotting back alongside Xhaka
Xhaka
Xhaka will play. He’s fit as a fiddle and really important in the way we look to control games nowadays. Arteta loves him anchoring our midfield so I can’t see Xhaka being rested.
Kolasinac
I think Kolasinac will come in at left wing back with Maitland-Niles dropping to the bench. AMN did well on Saturday but I reckon Kolasinac will be up for a scrap since he hasn’t started the previous two games.
Saka
Saka will come back in, especially since he didn’t feature at all against City. Will be fresh and raring to go.
Nketiah
I see Nketiah coming back into the side with Lacazette being rested following tiring performances in his previous two games. The jury is still out on him but he’s our only back up striker currently. Needs to have a good game.
Aubameyang
Aubameyang was rested against Liverpool in midweek so he should still be sharp. Without a doubt, he will be hungry for the golden boot so hopefully that will spur him on for a big performance.
My score prediction is 0-3 to Arsenal. I think we should have too much quality for Villa and should comfortably be able to win this game. Having said that, Villa are playing for survival so don’t be surprised if the game is tighter than anticipated.
JH
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