Arsenal host Villa at the Emirates on Saturday 18 January kicking off at 5.30pm.
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Arsenal aim to make it two Premier League wins in a row as they welcome Aston Villa to the Emirates on Saturday night. The Gunners beat North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 on Wednesday night, after an own goal from Dominic Solanke, and a strike from Leandro Trossard helped Mikel Arteta’s side secure all three points.
The result left them second in the league table, and after Liverpool dropped points against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday, the Gunners have now closed the gap at the top of the table to just four points behind Arne Slot’s side. The league leaders have a game in hand, however, which they will play when they face Merseyside rivals Everton next week.
Villa are seventh in the league and eight points behind the Gunners. Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery’s side have won their last two games, including a 1-0 win over Everton in David Moyes’ first game back at Goodison Park.
Premier League make referee appointments for Arsenal vs Villa match
The Premier League has appointed Chris Kavanagh as the match official for the game at the Emirates on Saturday. He has refereed in 20 matches this season, including in the Premier League, Europa League and the Nations League. Kavanagh has shown a total of 104 yellow cards in his 20 matches, meaning an average of 5.2 yellow cards per game. He has also shown four red cards so far this season.
He was last seen during Liverpool’s 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday. He has refereed one Arsenal game so far this year, which came in a 1-1 draw against Fulham early in December. The Gunners were denied a late winner in that game after Bukayo Saka netted in front of the away fans only for VAR to rule the goal out due to an offside against Gabriel Martinelli in the build up. Reacting at the time, ex-Tottenham midfielder Jamie Redknapp said: "Arne Slot would have had his heart in his mouth watching those final few minutes and the biggest VAR decision of the season so far. It was absolutely incredible but Martinelli just had to keep himself offside."
Kavanagh’s assistants on Saturday will be Lee Betts and Neil Davies, who have both been assistants in nine matches so far this season. Betts and Davies have worked together just once this season, in the Europa League for a match between Belgian side Union Saint-Glloise and Ligue 1 outfit Nice.
John Busby will be the fourth official for the game, he has been a referee in three matches this season in the FA Cup, Championship and League One. Busby has shown eight yellow cards in the three matches. Darren Cann has been appointed as the VAR, he has been an assistant in 10 games so far this season. Cann was last seen as an assistant for West Ham’s 3-2 win against Fulham, in Graham Potter’s first home match as the Hammers’ manager.