Arsenal v Aston Villa

Emirates Stadium
Saturday, 19 August
Kick-off: 1500 BST

Theirry Henry, Jens Lehmann and Freddie Ljungberg will all figure for Arsenal, but want-away defender Ashley Cole will not, despite making himself available.

Unsettled winger Jose Antonio Reyes also misses out with a groin problem, as does summer recruit Tomas Rosicky.

Martin O'Neill goes into his first game as Aston Villa manager without three key men - defenders Wilfred Bouma and Gary Cahill and striker Milan Baros.

Steven Davis travels, but faces a late fitness test on a thigh injury.

Arsenal (from): Lehmann, Flamini, Eboue, Toure, Djourou, Fabregas, Gilberto, Van Persie, Adebayor, Henry, Almunia, Hoyte, Hleb, Aliadiere, Cygan, Traore, Song, Ljungberg.

Aston Villa (from): Sorensen, Taylor, Barry, de la Cruz, Delaney, Hughes, Laursen, Mellberg, Ridgwell, Samuel, Berger, Davis, Hendrie, McCann, Whittingham, Angel, Moore, Phillips, Agbonlahor.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger:

"We play three times in a week.

"Add in the international matches and that means we play four times at the beginning of the season.

"I will have to make choices to find the right mixture between people who have played the internationals and those who have not played."

Aston Villa manager Martin O'Neill on playing at Arsenal's new ground:

"From our point of view it should be great for the players to step onto the pitch and not be frightened of it.

"We obviously want to do as well as we can, but why not go out to try to get a result?

"This is what we are in professional football to do - to have oppportunities to play in games like these."

BIG-MATCH FACTS

ARSENAL and Aston Villa both begin new eras, as they prepare to do battle in their opening Premiership duel. The Londoners play their first competitive match in the prestigious new setting of the £390 million Emirates Stadium, just a short walk from Highbury - their much cherished home for 93 years.

Arsene Wenger knows expectations are high as he begins his 11th season with the north Londoners. The 60,000 capacity at their new ground in Ashburton Grove will give Wenger much needed spending power. This compares with last season's Premiership average attendance of 38,186. The losing Champions League finalists finished outside the Premiership's top two for the first time in nine years. Their fourth placing has resulted in an early season qualifying fixture with Dinamo Zagreb for a place in Europe's elite club competition, and with a 0-3 lead from the away leg, Arsenal are well placed, ahead of Wednesday's second leg.
The Gunners are aiming to collect a ninth consecutive home League victory over Villa. That would also extend their unbeaten home top flight run against the Midlanders to 13, since a 1-2 defeat on 6 November 1993 when Guy Whittingham and Andy Townsend did the damage.

ASTON VILLA are soon to be under new ownership, and anticipation for the campaign ahead is at fever pitch with one of the hottest properties in football management now at the helm. But it would be a shock of gigantic proportions if Martin O'Neill could steer Villa to their eighth League title.

The sole Midlands representatives in the Premiership are one of four founder members of the Football League competing in this season's top division.

The Claret and Blues have not won in 15 Premiership clashes home and away against the north Londoners, since a 3-2 success at Villa Park on 13 December 1998. Dion Dublin scored twice for Villa, and Dennis Bergkamp got a brace for the visitors.

Referee: Graham Poll (Hertfordshire)

SEQUENCES/RECENT FORM

ARSENAL

Club stats

Fixtures Last season: 4th 67 points

1. Embarking on their 81st successive saeson of top flght football - the longest such run by any club.

2. Finished last season 24 points behind champions Chelsea.

3. Gained the highest points per game record last season in Premiership matches in which they scored first - won 19 and drew one of 20 at 2.9 points per game.

4. Ended last season on a three-match winning sequence in the highest League.

5. Three of their 13 League titles have come in the Premiership era (1997-98, 2001-02 and 2003-04).

6. Won their opening Premiership fixture in each of the last five seasons, and seven of the last eight.

7. Hold the record for the longest unbeaten streak from the start of a Premiership season, when they went through the entire campaign without losing in 2003-04.

8. Scored in every League game of the 2001-02 campaign.

9. Arsene Wenger is the second longest serving manager in the top tier, joining the Gunners in September 1996. Only Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United caps that. At 56 years of age,
Wenger is the fourth oldest boss in the top division.

10. The Gunners are bidding to extend an undefeated League run to seven games, which would stretch their unbeaten home Premiership sequence to eight games. Manchester United were the last team to defeat them in the League (2-0 at Old Trafford on 9 April). West Ham were the most recent to claim all three points on Arsenal turf (2-3 on 1 February).

ASTON VILLA

Club stats

Fixtures Last season: 16th 42 points

1. Last season saw Villa endure their second lowest finish in the Premiership. Their lowest was
18th in 1994-95.

2. They ended two places and eight points above the relegation zone.

3. Villa were the Premiership draw specialists last season - 12 of the 38 matches ended all square (32%).

4. The 1981-82 European champions, who last won major silverware when lifting the League Cup in 1996, are competing in their 96th season in the top flight and 19th in succession.

5. Took four games to record a victory last season, and won only one of their first eight Premiership contests.

6. Without an away League victory in six, the last five of which were defeats.

7. Not won a League game on the road since beating Middlesbrough 0-4 at the Riverside on 4 February.

KEY PLAYER NOTES/POTENTIAL MILESTONES

ARSENAL

Squad profiles
Ins and Outs

Thierry HENRY, who turned 29 on Thursday, was Arsenal's leading scorer with 33 League and Cup goals. Of these 27 were netted in the Premiership, winning the Football Writers' Association Player of the Year the Golden Boot award for the third season in a row, and fourth time in total.

HENRY has scored five times in Arsenal's last four opening home League games of a Premiership campaign.

Jens LEHMANN was one of 10 ever presents in the Premiership last season - seven of which were goalkeepers.

ASTON VILLA

Squad profiles

Ins and Outs

Milan BAROS was Villa's leading scorer last season with 12 goals - eight of which came in the Premiership.

If on the field from the outset, Jlloyd SAMUEL will be making his 100th career League start.

LAST SEASON'S CORRESPONDING GAME:

Arsenal 5-0 Aston Villa
1 April 2006 - Ref: Martin Atkinson
Arsenal scorers: Adebayor 19, Henry 25, 46, Van Persie 71, Diaby 80

HEAD TO HEAD TOTALS

League: Arsenal 62 wins, A Villa 58, Draws 34
Prem: Arsenal 14 wins, A Villa 5, Draws 9

HEAD TO HEAD at Arsenal
League: Arsenal 42 wins, A Villa 20, Draws 15
Prem: Arsenal 9 wins, A Villa 2, Draws 3

From : BBC