Arsenal will hope to put pressure on Premier League leaders Liverpool with a positive result against Aston Villa on Saturday.
The Reds held a four-point lead at the top of the standings — albeit with a game in hand — heading into this weekend’s matches. The Gunners had been hoping to see Arne Slot’s side slip up at Brentford before they take to the field at Emirates Stadium, but things didn’t quite turn out that way.
Villa were eighth in the standings at the start of the weekend, but with just three points separating them from the UEFA Champions League places, they remain firmly in the hunt for European qualification this season.
The Jugo Mobile is following the Arsenal vs. Aston Villa match live, providing score updates and commentary
Latest live updates | Team news and lineups | Where to watch where you are
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa score
| 2nd Half | Goal scorers | |
| Arsenal | 2 | Martinelli 35′, Havertz 55′ |
| Aston Villa | 1 | Tielemans 60′ |
Venue: Emirates Stadium, LondonReferee: Chris Kavanagh
Keep track of every game and every goal via SN’s live Premier League scoreboard
Starting lineups:
Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 22. David Raya (GK) — 5. Thomas Partey, 12. Jurrien Timber, 6. Gabriel, 49. Myles Lewis-Skelly — 8. Martin Odegaard, 41. Declan Rice, 23. Mikel Merino — 11. Gabriel Martinelli, 29. Kai Havertz, 19. Leandro Trossard
Aston Villa (4-3-3, right to left): 23. Emiliano Martinez (GK) — 2. Matty Cash, 4. Ezri Konsa, 5. Tyrone Mings, 22. Ian Maatsen (12. Lucas Digne) — 44. Boubacar Kamara, 24. Amadou Onana (26. Lamare Bogarde) — 27. Morgan Rogers, 8. Youri Tielemans, 41. Jacob Ramsey — 11. Ollie Watkins
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa live updates, highlights, and commentary
66 mins: Over from Martinelli! Gabriel plays a clever chip over the Villa defence after they fail to clear a corner, but his compatriot volleys high and wide.
61 mins: TIELEMANS HITS THE POST! Lewis-Skelly half clears the ball from his own box, and Villa’s No. 8 shoots first time. Raya is beaten, but the ball strikes the woodwork and goes out. So close to 2-2!
60 mins: GOAL! TIELEMANS GETS A GOAL BACK! That Havertz goal seemed to wake Villa up at last. Digne swings in a terrific cross from the left, and Tielemans runs off the back of Merino and scores with a brilliant diving header. Partey should have closed down Digne more quickly, but that was still a superb delivery. Game on!
55 mins: GOAL! HAVERTZ DOUBLES THE LEAD! Matty Cash doesn’t stop the cross from Trossard, and Havertz meets it with his left foot. The pace on the ball means Martinez can only deflect it into the corner. Villa just haven’t got going in this half, and their defending there certainly left something to be desired.
Watch in USA:
It’s Kai Havertz! It’s 2-0 to Arsenal!
? NBC & Peacock | #ARSAVL pic.twitter.com/26EiRzGG4K
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 18, 2025
UK:
Leandro Trossard finds Kai Havertz in the box who doubles Arsenal’s lead ? pic.twitter.com/8Auy4yPEoH
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 18, 2025
Canada:
Kai Havertz SCORES!!
⚽ 2-0 Arsenal FC vs Aston Villa
WATCH EVERY GOAL ? https://t.co/2w98QqADfX#PL #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/c4jOnVSZV4
— FuboCanada ?? (@fuboTVCanada) January 18, 2025
49 mins: Lewis-Skelly plays a really dangerous ball across goal, but there’s no red shirt near enough to the ball, and Villa survive. Arsenal are pushing for a second here.
Kickoff: Second half
Lucas Digne replaced Maatsen for Villa. Given his difficult half, and the fact he was on a yellow card, that’s not a huge surprise.
Halftime: Arsenal 1-0 Aston Villa
The Gunners take a deserved lead into the break. There hasn’t been a huge amount between these teams, but the hosts have fashioned the better chances. Villa need to find a way to get support to Watkins in attack.
41 mins: Partey plays a clever throughball to Merino, but he curls his shot wide. That came a few moments after Trossard had blasted over following more good work from Partey and Martinelli (although had he scored, it would have been disallowed for offside). Villa’s left-hand side is being sorely tested.
37 mins: In a further blow to Villa, Amadou Onana, who has looked uncomfortable for the last few minutes, cannot continue. He walks gingerly off the pitch to be replaced by Lamare Bogarde.
35 mins: GOAL! MARTINELLI GIVES ARSENAL THE LEAD! Trossard works space on the left and fires the ball across goal. Martinelli gets to it in front of Maatsen, and despite Martinez’s best efforts, he can’t stop the prodded attempt from going over the line.
Watch in USA:
Gabriel Martinelli’s effort JUST crosses the line to give Arsenal the lead despite Emi Martinez’s best efforts.
? NBC & Peacock | #ARSAVL pic.twitter.com/4GRZjl9Fdk
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) January 18, 2025
UK:
Gabriel Martinelli gets on the end of Leandro Trossard’s cross to open the scoring in North London! ? pic.twitter.com/HOhHh9cxJK
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 18, 2025
Canada:
Gabriel Martinelli SCORES!!
⚽ 1-0 Arsenal FC vs Aston Villa
WATCH EVERY GOAL ? https://t.co/2w98QqADfX#PL #PremierLeague pic.twitter.com/IHjhwQ6zzS
— FuboCanada ?? (@fuboTVCanada) January 18, 2025
33 mins: Watkins gets help this time, but from an Arsenal throw-in! Partey chucks the ball straight to the striker 30 yards from goal. He tries an ambitious lob, and the ball drops harmlessly over the bar.
29 mins: Tyrone Mings played a great clearance just now to Watkins, who was up against two Arsenal defenders as he ran towards goal. Trouble is, three Gunners reinforcements reached him before anyone in a Villa shirt got close. Watkins is going to need a lot more help if the visitors want to get a goal.
25 mins: The game has rather settled down now, and there’s little between the teams. Arsenal are creating very little in open play, but Villa can’t seem to get Ollie Watkins involved when they go forward.
18 mins: Trossard cuts in from the left and is urged to shoot by the crowd. He does, and Martinez parries — a little theatrically, really — and Villa have the ball back.
14 mins: Decent chance for Maatsen! Villa’s left-back finds space in the Arsenal box, but he blasts his shot straight at Raya. Villa are starting to offer a threat now.
9 mins: BIG CHANCE FOR PARTEY! From Arsenal’s fourth corner of the game, Gabriel nods the ball down and Partey swings a foot at the ball inside the six-yard box, but it’s sliced over. The referee has actually given a free-kick for a foul on Martinez anyway.
3 mins: Early chance for Martinelli! He stretches to reach a cross from deep from the left and manages to turn the ball goalwards from a tight angle, but Martinez makes the save. Good start from Arsenal.
Kickoff: First half
We’re off and running in north London!
30 mins before kickoff: Darwin Nunez’s dramatic late double means this game has taken on extra importance for Arsenal now. They really don’t want to let Liverpool get further ahead in the title race.
WHAT. IT. MEANS ❤️ pic.twitter.com/VDGrXLgAwS
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 18, 2025
1 hour 15 mins before kickoff: Arsenal have gone a little early with their team news. Gabriel Martinelli and Mikel Merino are the two changes from the midweek win over Tottenham, with Raheem Sterling dropping to the bench and William Saliba not in the squad. The centre-back is reportedly being rested to avoid aggravating a muscle concern.
New Villa signing Donyell Malen is on the bench for the visitors against his former club.
1 hour 30 mins before kickoff: Bournemouth’s remarkable 4-1 win at Newcastle United earlier today has arguably made this match more important for Villa than it was before. If they can win at the Emirates, they will be level on points with Newcastle in fourth, and one ahead of the Cherries.
Hat-Trick Kluivert ?
He scored his second hat-trick of the season for @afcbournemouth in their incredible win over Newcastle! pic.twitter.com/vx2QA7s0gN
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 18, 2025
2 hours before kickoff: Arsenal will hope for a favour from Brentford today as they attempt to close the gap to Liverpool at the top. Villa, meanwhile, are in a frenetic battle for European football. This could be a tough one to call.
⏪ Last time out against Aston Villa…
The Gunners secured all three points following a sensational second-half performance ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/yfYzR2YBr5
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 18, 2025
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa kick off time
This Premier League match kicks off in London, UK at 5:30 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Sat, Jan. 18 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Sat, Jan. 18 | 12:30 p.m. ET |
| UK | Sat, Jan. 18 | 5:30 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Sun, Jan. 19 | 4:30 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Sat, Jan. 18 | 11:00 p.m. IST |
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa lineups, team news
After news came out that Gabriel Jesus suffered an ACL injury, Arsenal have been left with just four healthy forwards, with many of them in poor form. The Brazilian joins Bukayo Saka and Ethan Nwaneri on the shelf.
William Saliba is rested for this game after apparently complaining of a muscle concern, so Jurrien Timber moves to centre-back and Thomas Partey starts at right-back. Mikel Merino lines up in midfield and Gabriel Martinelli is back in the attack.
Arsenal starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Raya (GK) — Partey, Timber, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly — Merino, Rice, Odegaard — Trossard, Havertz, Martinelli
Arsenal subs: Neto, Tierney, Zinchenko, Kiwior, Kacurri, Jorginho, Butler-Oyedeji, Kabia, Sterling
New Villa signing Donyell Malen starts on the bench, while Emery brings in Amadou Onana to join Boubacar Kamara and Youri Tielemans in what looks like a midfield three.
John McGinn will need time off after suffering a minor hamstring injury, while Ross Barkley is also staring at a few weeks on the sidelines after going down early in the recent win over West Ham.
Pau Torres suffered an ankle injury and will need until March to make his way back, and Diego Carlos is not yet ready to return.
Aston Villa starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): E. Martinez (GK) — Cash, Konsa, Mings, Maatsen — Onana, Kamara, Tielemans — Ramsey, Rogers, Watkins
Aston Villa subs: Olsen, Gauci, Bogarde, Nedeljkovic, Digne, Buendia, Bailey, Malen, Duran
Arsenal vs. Aston Villa live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions:
Here’s how to watch this Premier League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:
| Region | TV | Streaming |
| USA | NBC, Universo | Fubo USA, Peacock, NBC Sports app, Universo NOW, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo |
| Canada | — | Fubo Canada |
| UK | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League | Sky Go, Now TV |
| Australia | — | Optus Sport |
| India | Star Sports Select 1 | Disney+ Hotstar, JioTV |
