How to watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Arsenal will hope to make it two wins from two as they visit Aston Villa in the Premier League on Monday night. The Gunners began their opening fixture of the season with a 3-0 victory over Coventry City at the Emirates Stadium last Friday, while Villa suffered a 4-0 defeat at Brighton on the opening weekend.
In the UK, the match will be televised live on Sky Sports Premier League and Sky Sports Main Event, with kick-off scheduled for 4:30pm at Villa Park. Sky Sports subscribers can also stream the game live via the Sky Go app and website.
Team news
Mikel Arteta confirmed on Friday that Ezri Konsa will be available for selection. The centre-back completed a £55million move to Arsenal earlier this month and could face his former club for the first time since leaving Villa Park. "Yeah, he's available. He's been training really well, and I think he will be available for selection," Arteta said.
However, Arsenal remain without Jurrien Timber and William Saliba. Timber has not started a game since March due to a groin injury, while Saliba is a long-term absentee as he recovers from a back complaint. Arteta said of Timber: "Jurrien is progressing really well. Let's see how he ends up this week. It's the third week in a row that he's been outside and we have increased his load. So he's in the right trajectory. If everything goes well, I think next week we're going to step it up again." On Saliba, he added: "Willi, obviously, he's in a much conservative load management right now, so that's going to take a while."
Summer signing Bruno Guimaraes could also be in contention. The £75million midfielder missed the Coventry match due to a groin issue, having come off in the Community Shield victory over Manchester City earlier this month with an ice pack strapped to his thigh. He has not been seen training with the main group in recent days, but Arteta said: "We just managed the last few days with him. He's out on the pitch, he's been in training sessions. But we need to manage the load to get to Monday in the best possible condition to be available to be selected. He's potentially available."
Aston Villa will be without new signings Johan Manzambi and Brian Madjo, both ruled out through injury. Former Chelsea striker Tammy Abraham is also unlikely to feature as he continues recovering from a minor knock, while long-term casualty Amadou Onana remains on the sidelines with an ACL injury. Summer signing Joao Gomes is currently serving a three-match ban.
Other squad news
Gabriel Martinelli is set to complete his move to Al-Hilal over the weekend, while Gabriel Jesus and Fabio Vieira are unlikely to be in the squad as Arsenal continue to try to find buyers for the duo before Tuesday's transfer deadline. Reiss Nelson has agreed a mutual termination of his contract at the Emirates Stadium and will become a free agent.
Previous meeting
Arsenal visited Villa Park in December and came away with a frustrating 2-1 defeat, with Emi Buendia scoring a last-gasp winner deep in injury time. Villa are also still working out how to cope with the losses of Morgan Rogers and Ollie Watkins, as well as Ezri Konsa, who stands to make his Arsenal debut on return to his former club.