Arsenal end Aston Villa winning run
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An emphatic win over a title rival answered many of the questions that had been bubbling up around Mikel Arteta's side
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Three things we learned from Arsenal win as welcome Gabriel return softens Declan Rice injury blow
The news ahead of kick-off that Declan Rice had been ruled out with a knee injury was a major blow for Arsenal. When a player as influential as Rice is out there is an obvious danger of falling into confirmation bias, assuming any faults are down to their absence.
Arsenal had several players on the sidelines with injury for their Premier League win over Aston Villa including Declan Rice, Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz
Gabriel Magalhaes breathed fresh life into Arsenal's Premier League title challenge by opening the scoring in an emphatic win over Aston Villa on Tuesday. The defender's goal at the start of the second half sparked the Gunners into life,
The major new worry at the Emirates as 2025 drew to a close surrounded a knee issue picked up by Declan Rice. Rumours about the influential England midfielder being out ahead of the Villa game proved to be true, with Rice missing out on the matchday squad entirely, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be back for Arsenal’s first game of 2026.
Premier League leaders Arsenal host third-place Aston Villa on Tuesday in a vital match in the title race. Unai Emery’s side, who are just three points behind the London club in the table, are in sensational form and a victory at the Emirates Stadium would be their 12th in a row in all competitions.
The England international picked up the problem in Arsenal’s 2–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, a fixture in which he was forced to fill in as an emergency right back. Rice played the full 90 minutes at the Emirates, but a late fitness test puts him on the sidelines for his club’s final match of 2025.
The EA Sports FC 26 Team of the Week 16 squad will be released this week, replacing the EA Sports FC 26 TOTW 15 currently available in packs for Ultimate Team.
Mikel Arteta has already confirmed Arsenal are “actively looking” at potential signings, and three names keep being mentioned: Kenan Yildiz, Davide Bartesaghi and Rodrigo Mendoza. Chelsea have also reportedly made contact with Juventus over Yildiz and are interested in Nottingham Forest’s James McAtee.
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