Unai Emery will likely always feel he had unfinished business with the Gunners, though he's certainly proved his mettle on more than one occasion with the Villans.
Emery hasn't lost at the Emirates since leaving Arsenal
It's his third visit back to the club since being sacked in 2019, with his previous two seeing Villa emerge with a win and a draw. The Gunners faithful may take heart in the fact that no former manager has ever gone three consecutive away league games at the stadium without defeat after leaving.
The Spaniard takes his Villa outfit to North London this time on the back of an 11-match winning run, however, equalling their best-ever record of consecutive wins set way back in 1914.
Of those 11 games, eight have been in the Premier League, the first time they've won that many EPL games in a row, and the first time in their top-flight history since a run of nine victories between October and December 1910.
Were they to win a record-breaking 12th game in a row at the Emirates Stadium, they would leapfrog Man City, temporarily at least, and draw themselves level on 42 points with Mikel Arteta's side, who have, once again, been slowly but surely reeled in by the teams chasing them.
Best run in the Premier League
Given that Villa were 18th in the table at the end of matchday five (D3, L2), with just one goal scored, and that his side are where they are now, and deservedly so, is a testament to Emery's character and nous.
Since that poor start, Villa's 12 wins and 36 points are more than any other team in the top-flight has managed.
At least two goals scored in Villa's last six matches would also suggest that the Gunners will need to be at their best defensively to keep out the visitors' marauding attack.
Riccardo Calafiori and Jurrien Timber face late fitness tests for the hosts, who will definitely be without Ben White, Kai Havertz and Cristhian Mosquera.
For Villa, Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash are suspended after accumulating five yellow cards each, whilst Tyrone Mings, Pau Torres, Ross Barkley are injured, and Evann Guessand is away on AFCON duty.
Villa have the edge in recent head-to-head's
In four of the last six head-to-head meetings, Villa have scored twice; they won three of those matches, drew one and lost two, though both of those defeats came at Villa Park.
Arsenal's only defeat in their last six league games came against Emery's side at the start of December when Emi Buendia scored the winner in the 95th minute.
Mikel Arteta’s men have won six consecutive Premier League home games, however, which is their best run since the 10 wins between April and December 2022, and the North Londoners have also won their final league game in four of the last five calendar years - the sole exception being a 2-1 defeat at Fulham on New Year’s Eve in 2023.
It's worth pointing out that an own goal in Arsenal's last home win from Brighton's Georginio Rutter followed two more from Wolves players Sam Johnstone and Yerson Mosquera in the previous league match at the Emirates.
No other top-flight side has benefited more from own goals in the English top-flight this season, and were it not for those interventions, the unbeaten home run wouldn't have continued.
Eze and Watkins to start?
What will be interesting to see is whether Arteta starts with Eberechi Eze and Emery gives Ollie Watkins a place in his starting XI.
Both were substitutes in the last games for their respective teams, with the former having played a part in five goals in four home league starts against Villa (two goals, three assists), all for former club Crystal Palace between May 2021 and February 2025.
Watkins, who was once linked with a move to Arsenal, has scored four goals in five away league appearances against them, the most by any Villa player at the Emirates, and he would surely crave the opportunity to get another on his birthday.
Where Villa will need to be patient, however, is when Arsenal have the ball for extended periods, and given that the Gunners have already made over 1000 passes more than their visitors so far in 2025/26, that precise scenario is likely to play out across the 90 minutes.
Rogers and Saka the key men
In-form Morgan Rogers will be one player trying to disrupt the hosts' flow, and his seven goals, 33 total shots and 15 on target are all best-in-class from a Villa perspective in the league.
The England international will need to be at his most accurate, mind you, given that Arsenal's nine clean sheets are the most in the division.
His Three Lions teammate, Bukayo Saka, will again be looked to in order to provide the spark for the Gunners, with his four Premier League goals just one behind top-scoring Viktor Gyokeres, and his 33 chances created, 41 shots at goal and 18 on target, all unbeatable from an Arsenal perspective.
The game may well be decided by Saka or Rogers, of course, but the fact is that both teams have several players in top form already. Another classic could therefore be in prospect, and who would bet against another injury-time winner for either side to see them end the year in style?
