Arsenal vs. Aston Villa live score: Premier League result, updates, stats from midweek match

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The Premier League festive fixtures are heating up as title favourites Arsenal host third-place Aston Villa in a top of the table midweek clash.

The Gunners have done all they can to fend off the two clubs behind them in the title race, sitting two points above second-place Man City, who are themselves just a point above Unai Emery's side.

A victory today would give Mikel Arteta some valuable breathing room, while dropped points could potentially open the door for City to take the lead, giving Arsenal fans a familiar feeling of inevitable doom.

AllSportsPeople is following the Arsenal vs. Aston Villa match live, providing score updates, commentary, and analysis.

Arsenal vs. Aston Villa score

Location: Emirates Stadium (London, England)
Referee: Darren England

Keep track of every game and every goal via SN's live Premier League scoreboard

Starting lineups:

Arsenal (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Raya (GK) — 12. Timber, 2. Saliba, 6. Gabriel, 5. Hincapie— 8. Odegaard, 36. Zubimendi, 23. Merino — 7. Saka, 14. Gyokeres, 19. Trossard.

Aston Villa (4-2-3-1, right to left): 23. E. Martinez (GK) — 26. Bogarde, 4. Konsa, 3. Lindelof, 12. Digne — 24. Onana, 8. Tielemans — 19. Sancho, 10. Buendia, 27. Rogers — 11. Watkins.

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Arsenal vs. Aston Villa live updates, highlights from Premier League match

1 hour to kickoff: Mikel Arteta's decision to go with Piero Hincapie at left-back is a big one, considering natural full-backs Miles Lewis-Skelly and Ben White are both on the bench. He's been excellent in the middle of defence since signing for Arsenal, but this will be his first start out wide.

1 hour 15 mins to kick: Lineups are in! Unai Emery has gone with an attacking setup, sitting John McGinn and moving Youri Tielemans back in midfield to fit Emi Buendia in as the No. 10.

Arsenal, meanwhile, have installed Piero Hincapie at left-back instead of deploying Miles Lewis-Skelly, while Leandro Trossard starts on the left over Gabriel Martinelli or Gabriel Jesus.

1 hour 30 mins to kick: Aston Villa won the previous meeting between these two clubs by a 2-1 score, with that victory coming just three weeks ago back on December 6.

It was quite a sight to see Arsenal's rock-solid defence coughing up 2.16 expected goals on 15 shots to an Aston Villa side that has only put up the 12th-highest xG total in the Premier League. Can they make the necessary adjustments to lock down Unai Emery's crew this time around, or will history repeat itself?

Last time out vs Arsenal. Pic.twitter.com/KQfupypGIu

— Aston Villa (@AVFCOfficial) December 29, 2025

1 hour 45 mins to kick: Arsenal fans received some difficult news hours before the match as it was reported Declan Rice would miss the game after picking up a knock to his knee while deputising at right-back against Brighton. He reportedly signaled to the bench on the hour mark but eventually played the full 90 minutes.

Thankfully, Arsenal are deep in midfield as Mikel Merino will likely step in to take his place. The question now is how long might Rice be absent?

🚨 Declan Rice expected to miss Arsenal’s match against Aston Villa tonight after sustaining a knee injury in 2-1 victory over Brighton.#AFC hopeful it will be short absence but don't want to risk aggravating issue further.

Story for @TheAthleticFC ⬇️https://t.co/MDwQ24uxwV

— gunnerblog (@gunnerblog) December 30, 2025

2 hours to kickoff: Two opposing trends clash today, as Arsenal are unbeaten at home all season long while Villa are on a remarkable 11-match winning streak. Which will come to an end today?

Just a reminder that Arsenal haven’t lost a single match at the Emirates across all competitions this season…

They face Unai Emery’s Aston Villa tonight 👀 pic.twitter.com/fpXgwgaiNR

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) December 30, 2025

Arsenal vs. Aston Villa kick off time

This Premier League match kicks off from Emirates Stadium on Tuesday, December 30 at 8:15 p.m. Local time in London, England. Here's how that time translates across some of the major territories around the globe:

Arsenal vs. Aston Villa lineups, team news

Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber sat out the Brighton match after an awkward fall in training, but he is expected to be part of the squad today. Riccardo Calafiori experienced the same, but he was not spotted with the team ahead of the match and could miss out.

Ben White and Cristhian Mosquera need a few more weeks before they are back, while the status of Kai Havertz is still unknown.

Reports in the run-up to the match indicated that Declan Rice would miss out after deputising at right-back against Brighton and picking up a knee issue.

Arsenal  starting lineup (4-3-3): Raya (GK) — Timber, Saliba, Gabriel, Hincapie— Odegaard, Zubimendi, Merino — Saka, Gyokeres, Trossard.

Arsenal subs:  Kepa (GK), White, Lewis-Skelly, Norgaard, Havertz, Madueke, Eze, Martinelli, Jesus.

Aston Villa have a significantly reduced squad thanks not just to injuries, but also other unavailabilites.

Evann Guessand is the lone AFCON absentee in the Aston Villa squad, but Matty Cash and Boubacar Kamara are both suspended due to yellow card accumulation and therefore unavailable to play in today's match.

Pau Torres, Ross Barkley, and Tyrone Mings are all out due to injury, while Harvey Elliott is ill and may miss out.

Aston Villa starting lineup (4-2-3-1): E. Martinez (GK) — Bogarde, Konsa, Lindelof, Digne — Onana, Tielemans — Sancho, Buendia, Rogers — Watkins.

Aston Villa subs:  Bizot (GK), Wright, Maatsen, Garcia, Routh, Hemmings, McGinn, Malen, Jimoh-Alboa.

Arsenal vs. Aston Villa live stream, TV channel

Here is how to watch the match in some of the world's major regions: