Arsenal Faces Aston Villa Without Key Midfielder Declan Rice

Declan Rice sustained an injury during Arsenal’s match against Brighton, yet he managed to play the full 90 minutes in the Gunners’ 2-1 victory. Although Rice hoped to recover in time for the clash against Aston Villa, Arsenal has opted to exercise caution, prioritizing his long-term health over immediate participation, as reported by The Athletic.

His absence is a significant setback for Mikel Arteta and the team, particularly given the importance of the upcoming match. Aston Villa previously defeated Arsenal 2-1 in early December and enters this match following an impressive 11-game winning streak. A win for Unai Emery’s side would see them equal Arsenal at the top of the table with 42 points.

Rice was expected to play as a right-back against Aston Villa, but Arteta will have to revise his strategy. The Arsenal manager may, however, benefit from the potential return of Jurrien Timber and Ben White. Timber, who missed the Brighton match, is likely to be fit for the encounter against Villa, while White is reportedly progressing ahead of schedule in his recovery from a hamstring injury and may also join the squad. Additionally, Gabriel could return to the starting line-up for Arsenal, though Arteta will still be without several injured players including Max Dowman, Cristhian Mosquera, Kai Havertz, and Riccardo Calafiori.

Arteta expressed confidence in his team’s ability to learn from their previous encounter with Aston Villa, stating, “We’ll watch it back. I have a few ideas and things that we have to do better. And it was quite cruel, as well, the way we lost it. But yeah, we learned from it.”

He also emphasized the importance of maintaining their home-winning streak, aiming for dominance in the match. Arteta noted, “We want every opponent that comes here to suffer, and we need to be as dominant as we were today and against Villa. We have a challenging match ahead, but it’s a great opportunity to prepare and play.”

On the other hand, Unai Emery downplayed speculation about Villa’s title aspirations, recalling their previous season’s performance. “Two years ago, we finished the first half of the season with 39 points. We had the same question then, and ultimately we finished fourth in the Champions League positions. While motivation is key, discussing the title at this stage doesn’t make sense for us. We are focused on the match ahead. There is a three-point gap between us and Arsenal, which serves as our motivation. If we start thinking too far ahead, we might lose sight of the present.”

The match on Tuesday marks the final fixture of 2025 for both Arsenal and Aston Villa, with both teams eager to conclude the year with a victory. Following this match, Arsenal faces a challenging January schedule, with fixtures against Bournemouth, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest, and Manchester United in the Premier League, as well as matches in the Champions League against Inter and Kairat, and a FA Cup match against Portsmouth, along with a semi-final clash against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.