Arsenal will travel to face Aston Villa in a Premier League clash this weekend.
This fixture will see Mikel Arteta come up against his predecessor at the Emirates Stadium in the shape of Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, and the Arsenal boss will be out for revenge.
Last season, the Midlands outfit did the double over the Gunners, beating them home and away in the Premier League.
The most damaging of those two defeats came in North London in April. Arsenal were in terrific form heading into the fixture, but a 2-0 defeat at the Emirates Stadium against Aston Villa proved to have devastating consequences, as Arteta’s side ultimately missed out on the title by just two points.
Gary Neville has tipped Arsenal for the title again this time around, but if the Gunners are to claim Manchester City’s crown then they will have to be near-perfect throughout the campaign, and that means avoiding a repeat of their double defeat against the Villans.
Arsenal’s Spanish manager Mikel Arteta (L) and Aston Villa’s Spanish head coach Unai Emery (R) watch from the touchline during the English Premier …
Arsenal icon Robert Pires highlights Aston Villa mistake
Robert Pires believes that that April loss against Aston Villa, rather than the 0-0 draw against Manchester City themselves that came before it, was the main reason that the North London club missed out on the title.
Speaking on The Obi One Podcast, the Arsenal legend said: “The mistake for me, from Arsenal, was when we lost the game at home against Aston Villa. For me, this is when we lost the championship, because just before this the team was perfect, they played well.
“The draw against Man City, they don’t play very good, but mentally, on this game, it was perfect. They play together, they play very strong, very compact, and for Man City it was difficult to find a good solution or to make a goal.
“The difference between City and Arsenal is this, it was very, very close.”
Arsenal must show growth vs Aston Villa
Arsenal cannot let any ghosts from last season haunt them at Villa Park on Saturday. Instead, the Gunners must show that they have learned from last season and taken another step forward.
Arteta has promised Arsenal fans silverware, but if they are to achieve that aim this season then they need to show that they can avoid repeating past mistakes.
Saturday will provide a stern test in this regard, and the first real chance of this season for Arsenal to show how far they’ve come over the summer.
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