Having enjoyed an impressive start to the new Premier League season, Aston Villa find themselves eighth in the table with a game in hand on all of the teams above them.
Their momentum has however, stalled somewhat, with back-to-back defeats to newly-promoted Leeds, and then Southampton, wrecking their 100% start to the campaign.
On Sunday, they face another tough task, when they travel to the Emirates to take on Arsenal. The Gunners of course coming off the back of a fine 1-o win over rivals Manchester United last Sunday.
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And whilst star man Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored the winning goal via the penalty spot, Dean Smith and Villa must be more wary of one of his teammates: Thomas Partey.
The Ghana international, who arrived in the summer from Atletico Madrid, has already established himself as a key part of Mikel Arteta’s side in the early weeks of his Arsenal career.
His performance at Old Trafford against United earned him rave reviews, with Paul Scholes calling him “brilliant”, and several Sky Sports pundits lauding how he has provided the Gunners with some much-needed ingredients in the middle of the park.
In fact, Villa icon George Boateng has also previously gone on record to hail Partey, saying: “Partey has been such an unbelievable pioneer in European football as he has put Ghana on the map. When I watched that Liverpool vs Atletico game in the Champions League I thought he was outstanding. You can put any player beside him and that player will excel.”
Villa of course already have recent experience of beating Arsenal, clinching an important 1-0 win over them at Villa Park in the penultimate game of the Premier League season in the previous campaign.
If they are to do something similar, this time at the Emirates, then it’s important Smith finds a way to combat Arsenal’s newest midfield enforcer. If he can do that, then their chances of securing another priceless result, will go up considerably.