ARSENAL will endeavour to make it five Premier League victories on the spin when they welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates on Wednesday night.
Mile Arteta's side are surveying the standings from the summit, boasting the only 100% record in the top-flight after four rounds of fixtures.
The Gunners continued their well-nigh flawless start to the season with a hard-fought 2-1 win over Fulham on Saturday, on an evening where my main selection landed in North London.
That comeback success against the Cottagers has added to the ever-growing optimism among the Emirates faithful and they will fancy their chances of filing another three points when Aston Villa come to town.
The pressure is mounting on Villa manager Steven Gerrard who now finds himself among the early favourites in the dreaded Premier League sack race.
Last time out, the Villains became the first top-flight team to be beaten by West Ham this term, a setback that means the Midlands outfit have now slumped to defeat in three of their opening four league fixtures of the season.
Outright Betting
Arsenal, who have won nine of their last 11 Premier League matches, enter this contest as short-priced 9/20 (Bet 365) favourites.
Aston Villa have fallen to defeat in five of their last six visits to this venue and the bookmakers' odds suggest more of the same lies in wait this midweek, with a Villa victory trading at 6/1 (UniBet) while the draw is on offer at 19/5 (SBK).
Betting Angles
I successfully merged over one Arsenal goal and under two Bournemouth goals during the weekend before last and I'm more than happy to support the same formula here at 10/11 with Bet 365.
The Gunners had the third-best home record in the Premier League last season, racking up 41 points from the 57 on offer to them, a return only topped by title-chasing titans Man City and Liverpool.
Arteta's men looked to have carried over that fine home form into the new campaign and that doesn't bode well for an Aston Villa side that have already crashed to road defeats at both Bournemouth and Crystal Palace.
Steven Gerrard's strugglers shipped five goals across those two losses, meaning that they now have leaked two or more strikes in each of their last three league games away from Villa Park.
In fact, Aston Villa have failed to file a clean sheet in their last 10 matches in all competitions, so I'm happy to back the hosts to strike twice here for what would be the fifth Premier League game in succession.
It's also worth pointing out that the aforementioned Bet Builder would have paid out in three of Arsenal's opening four Premier League matches of the season, as well as Aston Villa's two away defeats to date, all of which adds to the appeal of backing the same 10/11 (Bet 365) wager on Wednesday night.
Elsewhere, I'll also dip into Paddy Power's to Score or Assist market and take in-form Arsenal man Martin Ødegaard at 11/10.
The Gunners skipper has scored three goals in his last two league games and he could smell blood here against what is a fragile-looking Aston Villa backline.
This English Premier League match between Arsenal and Aston Villa will be played on Aug 31, 2022 and kick off at 19:30. Check below for our tipsters best Arsenal vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
