Bosnich: Aston Villa have answers to $64m question in Premier League game of the round against Arsenal
Do not turn the television off after stumps are called at The Gabba on Saturday night.
The Premier League game of the round is undoubtedly Aston Villa hosting Arsenal at 11.30pm AEDT.
Working in the media you try to stay impartial but I will always have a soft spot for my old club Villa. This will be a great test for both sides.
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Eberechi Eze of Arsenal shoots at goal. Getty
Arsenal are flying at the top of the table and have answered every test thrown their way so far.
But Villa’s revival has been exceptional. They are up to third after a remarkable win over Brighton midweek.
Two goals down away from home, and you come back and win 4-3 – that’s exceptional.
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At the start of the season, we were scratching our heads over Villa’s form.
They took seven games to notch their first win, across all competitions, and now they’re up to third in the Europa League as well.
I really think they can go on with it and compete for silverware now. I truly believe in them and Unai Emery’s a vastly experienced manager.
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They’ve been there and thereabouts the last couple of seasons, and the Europa League is obviously not as taxing as the Champions League was for them.
The Champions League comes at you thick and fast with big-time clubs. Europa League is still very important, and it’s a competition they can win.
But they can rest far more players in Europa League games than they could in the Champions League, which then enables them to focus much more on the Premier League.
John McGinn of Aston Villa celebrates scoring against Arsenal. Getty
Teams that don’t start well usually finish really well and I’m looking at that with Villa. But the $64 million dollar question is how to stop Arsenal.
The Gunners haven’t lost a game since the September 1, away to Liverpool. Teams have tried all types of things against them but Villa will take great encouragement from what Chelsea did against them, securing a 1-1 draw with only 10 men.
Arsenal can overwhelm you with so many aspects of the game.
In terms of possession, set plays, how they close you down.
If you stand up to them and go back at them, from a psychological point of view, it puts a bit of doubt in the back of their minds. You need to keep going at them for 90 minutes plus.
Leave everything out on the pitch and don’t let them settle when they’re on the ball.
And even off the ball, you’ve got to keep playing your football.
Chelsea did that superbly and you wouldn’t have known that Arsenal had an extra player. Villa will need a slice of luck to get a result but they have the quality to hurt them.
Arsenal have finished runners-up the last three seasons and that will be a monkey on their back until they shake it.
But they’ve got a five point lead and deserve to be viewed as firm title favourites.
The topsy-turvy results across the competition has made this one of the best starts to the Premier League in recent memory.
Poor old winless Wolves are the only team that aren’t truly competitive from week to week.
Bournemouth are sitting in 14th place but they are only nine points off second. That’s how tight the table is.
I absolutely loved the Manchester City vs Fulham game midweek.
City won 5-4 in an absolute blinder to keep in touch with Arsenal and then Pep Guardiola gave one of the all-time great press conferences.
Pep Guardiola after Manchester City’s victory. Getty
“Me?! My god, I lost my hair! My god!” That was really good.
Liverpool have inched their way up to ninth but their title defence remains unconvincing.
I’m really looking forward to their clash with Leeds United on Sunday (AEDT).
Leeds breathed some much needed life into their campaign with a stunning 3-1 midweek upset of Chelsea.
That moved them out of the relegation zone but I think it’s still going to be very tough for them to stay up.
There’s a lot of stories circulating that their manager, Daniel Farke, is under a lot of pressure, which is understandable.
Ange Postecoglou of Nottingham Forest during a press conference at the City Ground. Getty
Ange Postecoglou has been talked about as a possible replacement and I actually think he would be a good fit at Leeds.
The club has a rich tradition of Australian success, through Harry Kewell and Mark Viduka, so that is a storyline to watch.
Strap in for another wild weekend!
