Both Arsenal and Aston Villa began the 2024-25 Premier League campaign with wins as they prepare to lock horns at the Emirates Stadium this weekend.
Unai Emery will look to get one over his former team once again, having done the double against Arsenal last season.
The Gunners, on the other hand, have tricky away games against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City coming up, making this game an absolute must-win to start the season on a positive note.
And Paul Merson believes Arsenal will secure a hard-fought victory as two of his former teams prepare to go head-to-head.
Paul Merson tips Arsenal to beat Aston Villa
Merson believes Aston Villa doing the double over Arsenal cost them the Premier League title last season.
“This is a massive game. Arsenal got done for the double by Aston Villa last season and that cost them the title,” Merson wrote in his column for Sportskeeda.
“If Arsenal lose and Manchester City win this weekend, the Gunners could suffer in the title race. Mikel Arteta’s men also face Tottenham Hotspur and City in September, so it’s not an easy run-in from here.
Merson warned Arsenal that they can’t afford any slip-ups at this stage of the season, suggesting that their Premier League title hopes could be over as early as October if they don’t secure positive results against Villa, Tottenham and Man City.
The former Arsenal midfielder, however, predicted the Gunners to secure a 2-1 victory.
He continued: “If things don’t go their way, Arsenal could even be out of the title race by October! I’m not even exaggerating, the next four fixtures starting with Villa on Saturday are all tough for them.
“If you lose two of them, it’s over. I’m going to go for an Arsenal win but I do think Villa can score.”
Analysing Arsenal’s head-to-head record against Aston Villa
Both Arsenal and Aston Villa have five wins apiece in their last 10 Premier League meetings against each other, indicating that this has been one of the most competitive fixtures in recent years.
However, Villa did the double over the Gunners last season and will look to deal an early blow to their title hopes with a win.
Arsenal, for their part, looked comfortable against Wolverhampton Wanderers and will look to make home advantage count to get one over Emery, who has transformed Villa since taking over the reigns from Steven Gerrard.
