Back to the Emirates we go for Friday night football and hopefully we can get similar entertainment to what we got in North London on Monday night in the thrilling 2-2 draw between Arsenal and Crystal Palace. Despite their unbeaten record being stretched to 6 games in all competitions, Arsenal were far from convincing on Monday night and you could argue Palace deserved all 3 points. Only a last minute Alex Lacazette equaliser saved their blushes and Arsenal will need to perform better if they want to get all 3 points against Aston Villa. The visitors somehow threw away a 2 goal lead against Midlands rivals Wolves on Saturday as they conceded 3 goals in the last 10 minutes to end up losing 3-2. Should be a belter of a game for a bet builder and below are my 3 favourite tips and selections for the match at the Emirates stadium on Friday night.
Arsenal v Aston Villa Bet Builder tips
Ollie Watkins to have 1+ Shot on Target v Arsenal
I really like Ollie Watkins and think he is a top player who has many different strings to his bow. His physicality is sure to cause the lightweight looking Ben White plenty of problems with the £50m defender yet to really settle at Arsenal just yet. Watkins is a big Arsenal fan and he has made no secret of that so I am sure he will be very keen to impress as he did in this exact fixture last season. He loves playing against Arsenal and has 3 goals in his 2 appearances against the North London club and am sure he will cause a rather shaky looking Arsenal backline plenty of problems here.
His Cheat Sheet stats are mightily impressive too and he leads the way at Aston Villa for shots on target with a healthy average of 1.36 per game from the 2.92 he attempts. At a price of 1.44, I think he looks exceptional value for a shot on target here and in all honesty I wouldn’t at all be surprised to see him get on the scoresheet once more as he always seems to do against the Gunners.
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Ollie Watkins to have 1+ Shot on Target v Arsenal @ 1.44 at Paddy Power
Emile Smith-Rowe to have 1+ Shot on Target v Aston Villa
Little doubt in my mind who has been the standout player for Arsenal this season and that man is Emile Smith-Rowe. He very rarely has a bad game and both he and Arteta have agreed that the only thing he needs to take his game to the next level is more goals. There are certainly signs more goals are coming and he has certainly been allowed more offensive freedom this season and his importance in this Arsenal side continues to grow. He was given the famous number ‘10’ shirt in the summer and the goal he scored in the North London Derby showed he has what it takes to deal with the pressure.
His shooting stats are much improved too as you can see from referencing the Cheat Sheet. He is averaging over a shot on target per game and in this number 10 role he is often afforded a decent amount of chances to get a shot off as he showed recently against Tottenham. Odds look very generous at 1.8 so he is my pick from the Arsenal side in this one.
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Emile Smith-Rowe to have 1+ Shot on Target v Aston Villa @ 1.8 at Paddy Power
Tyrone Mings to be Booked v Arsenal
The Villa captain has found himself in the referees notebook more than any other player on the field on Friday night. He doesn’t commit the most fouls but when he does they are very often cynical and see him straight in the book. Arsenal sources suggest both Aubameyang and Lacazette will start meaning Mings will have his work out against two top-level strikers. Laca was brilliant off the bench on Monday night and most agree he will be handed his start here following his late goal against Palace. He is the most fouled Arsenal player too and is a player who uses his body really well to draw fouls from his opponent. Mings at 3.6 for me looks the best value of any cards selection and lets hope the Villa skipper adds to the three cards he has already picked up in this season’s Premier League!
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Tyrone Mings to be Shown a Card v Arsenal @ 3.6 at Paddy Power
Arsenal v Aston Villa Predicted Line-ups
Arsenal v Aston Villa Cheat Sheet
BOOM! All 3 of my Bet Builder tips landed ✅✅✅
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing *
How to watch Arsenal v Aston Villa in the Premier League
📅 When is Arsenal v Aston Villa? / Friday, 22 October 2021, 20:00 BST
🏟 Where is Arsenal v Aston Villa? / Emirates Stadium (London)
📺 What TV Channel is Arsenal v Aston Villa on? / Sky Sports Main Event & Sky Sports Premier League
📱 Online Live Streaming for Arsenal v Aston Villa / bet365
🟨 …And who is the referee for Arsenal v Aston Villa? / Craig Pawson 🏴
