Mikel Arteta would speak to the press on Friday ahead of Arsenal’s clash with Aston Villa. The Gunners are set to take on Aston Villa in Saturday’s only Premier League kick-off at 12:30 pm.
Ahead of the game, Arteta discussed a number of topics in his presser, including team news.
Takehiro Tomiyasu has been out of action for several weeks now with an injury.
And when speaking about the right-back on Friday, Arteta confirmed Tomiyasu has a chance of featuring at the weekend, but nothing is certain: “There is a chance, but we don’t know. We will see in training how he is feeling.”
Arteta speaking now:
On Tomiyasu: “There is a chance, but we don’t know. We will see in training how he is feeling.”
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) March 18, 2022
Arteta also praised Steven Gerrard for the job he is doing at Villa: “He’s brought a different energy to that stadium. I’m impressed with what he’s doing.”
Aston Villa vs Arsenal
Arsenal head into the game after a rare loss. The north Londoners had been unbeaten in the Premier League since January 1st, climbing up the table into 4th place.
However, Arteta’s side have been woeful against the top teams this campaign. So, it was not surprising to see them lose 2-0 vs Liverpool on Thursday. Granted, it was not a terrible display from Arsenal, but Liverpool’s quality would shine through.
Said loss means that Arsenal now only have two games in hand on 5th-place Manchester United, one of which is the Villa tie.
So, it is imperative that Arsenal pick up three points this weekend whilst United are not in action to put some distance between themselves and the top-four chasing sides.
