Arsenal v Aston Villa: Premier League – live

Key Highlights

• The Lions are purring. Arsenal by contrast … well, they’re not exactly struggling, are they, sitting atop the table, on a three-match winning run in the league.
• But they’re not quite hitting the heights of that late-November Bayern Munich / Tottenham Hotspur sweet spot.
• They’ve kind of stumbled over the line in their last three home fixtures – league wins over Wolves and Brighton, and the Carabao victory against Crystal Palace – while this weird stat of four of their last six goals being scored by the opposition, with one of the other two a penalty, doesn’t exactly inspire total confidence in a team that’s come up painfully short for three consecutive seasons. But a win’s a win’s a win (x3) and there’s something in that old saw about champion-bound sides getting the job done without playing well.
• Imagine what they can do when it all clicks, and they get a few players back.
• So three points tonight would be a huge fillip for their hopes of finally getting their flowers.