Aston Villa

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Tyrone Mings says Unai Emery has been key to helping the team balance all of the competitions they have been playing this season, and believes the club "deserves" to be play consistently in the Champions League.

Speaking about his manager, Mings said: "He's been brilliant. It always helps to have someone who's been there and done it and had experience in European competitions and also knows how to find the balance in placing the importance in our consistency in the Premier League but also the mental peaks and troughs from Champions League nights. It's something different for us and the fans.

"He's been very clear that we can't take away from what is our main goal which is to ultimately qualify for the Champions League again and to do that we need to be consistent over 38 games in the Premier League

"His experience has been really valuable. I'm sure balancing European competitions, Premier League and the FA Cup will show later in the season.

"Once you've had a taste of the Champions League, the manager is really keen on it not being a one-off and it's what this club deserves."

Mings has started the last four games for Villa, after spending a long time out with a knee injury, and speaking about his time on the sidelines he said: "I obviously went through a really tough period with my knee injury. Coming back it's always tough to find a rhythm and get back into the flow of everything that you take for granted when you're playing.

"Now to be back in the swing of things I feel great and better each week - long may it continue!"

He knows that he's still got a long way to go until he's 100% again, and believes the last 20% of rehab is in playing games, but speaking about how long he thinks it will be until he's in perfect condition, he said: "I would say another 3 or 4 months of playing continuously is when I will stop thinking about the injury.

"The fact that I've been out, and to stop being so rusty in certain situations - there are so many things that you only experience in a game.

"There is no grace period - you're either good or you're not."

Watch highlights and analysis from Saturday's five Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Brentford 0-2 Liverpool

• Arsenal 2-2 Aston Villa

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Aston Villa boss Unai Emery, has been speaking to Sky Sports after the game: "Fantastic. Brilliant how the players reacted after the two goals - it was fantastic. In our mentality, we never give up and today we never gave up and we tried to score. Arsenal were pushing and creating some chances, but even with that we have another.

"Arsenal are very powerful at home. This is the level we want to be close to, but we still have work to do as they're very strong. To compete like we did is the only way to get something here."

On Lucas Digne replacing Ian Maatsen: "He [Lucas Digne] played fantastic. Maatsen played fantastic in the first half. Of course, today Martinelli was difficult for Ian Maatsen and for Lucas Digne, but both did a fantastic job. Never give up. In that moment, in the mind, that was it."

On playing in the Champions League next: "Now we are going to enjoy Champions League and of course to compete. Of course, building a team changing some small players in the squad and trying to use this transfer window to get stronger for the second part of the season."

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Aston Villa midfielder Youri Tielemans told BBC Sport after today's draw: "We came back really well into the game. The [first] goal gave us freedom and belief. It's not an easy task. They were on top of us for 60 minutes."

"From our point of view [a good result] is always deserved. We take the point and move forward. They had many chances but we defended with our bodies on the line. 2-2 is a good result for us. First half we had a couple of counters, misplaced passes from me which could have put Ollie Watkins in.

"We fought really well to come back into the game.

"[It's a] big win. We have had some bad results away from home. We just need that consistency away from home because we're doing well at Villa Park. It gives us a massive boost of confidence for the rest of the season."

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Arsenal have failed to win a Premier League home game in which they led by 2+ goals for the first time since October 2019 (2-2 vs Crystal Palace), having won each of their past 46 before tonight.

Aston Villa avoided defeat in a Premier League away game in which they trailed by 2+ goals for the first time since November 2013 (2-2 vs West Bromwich Albion), ending a run of 52 straight defeats.

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Arsenal's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back to this page on Monday to find a selection of your replies

There are five Premier League fixtures on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you all the action.

• Newcastle v Bournemouth (12:30)

• Brentford v Liverpool - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Leicester v Fulham

• West Ham v Crystal Palace

• Arsenal v Aston Villa (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

All kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

This was the game that did it for Arsenal last season. They won 16 of their last 18 league games, but had one bad half against Aston Villa and the defeat cost them the title.

That memory must still hurt but it might actually help Mikel Arteta's side focus on getting the job done this time.

Villa come into this game after a good win at Everton but they allowed David Moyes' side to have a few opportunities.

The Gunners deserved their win over Tottenham on Wednesday and I can see them building on that performance, by finding their ruthless touch.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

Henry Brownsey
BBC Sport journalist

Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Arsenal (kick-off 17:30 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• It is possible new signing Donyell Malan could be involved at Emirates Stadium.

• Emery praised the versatility of the Dutch forward: "He is used to playing as a seven, sometimes as an 11 on the left, but he can also play as a number 10. He's always close to the opponent's net to score and assist goals. We need a player like him to be a threat to the opponent in behind."

• The Villa boss did not rule out a January exit for Diego Carlos, but said that if someone left, they "have to sign another player to replace them."

• The Brazil defender "is not feeling good" so is expected to miss tomorrow's game along with Pau Torres, John McGinn and Ross Barkley.

• On fellow centre-back Tyrone Mings: "[He is] fantastic - how he is progressively helping the team, his attitude and commitment to the club. Last year and at the beginning of this season, he was not feeling 100%. When he came in for Pau Torres, it was his moment and now he is helping the team."

• The defender has played every minute in the past three games and Emery warned Villa "have to be careful".

• He said he wants the defender to stay at Aston Villa "for a long time", adding: "Very happy with his attitude and commitment - he is a leader of other players. He is very important for the direction of the squad with the message we want for the players about being demanding here at Aston Villa."

• On Villa's first visit to title-chasing Arsenal since beating them last April on the way to finishing in the top four: "Different circumstances. In that moment, it was very special. They were involved in the Champions League - we were in the Conference League. We competed very well and we won - but it was very difficult."

• However, he says the task against Arsenal is "very, very difficult": "We are prepared and very motivated - we will try to improve on things from Everton. [Arsenal] are a candidate to win the Premier League.

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

Full commentary of Arsenal v Aston Villa from 17:30 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio 5 Live

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Aston Villa striker Jhon Duran has been fined £15,000 by the Football Association for improper conduct after being sent off in the game against Newcastle on 26 December.

The Aston Villa forward admitted that he acted in an improper manner in the 32nd minute of the game.

He kicked a water bottle after leaving the pitch and had to be restrained by a member of Villa's backroom staff.

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We asked for your thoughts after Wednesday's Premier League game between Everton and Aston Villa.

Here are some of your comments:

Everton fans

Chris: Awful performance and no improvement on the dreadful football played under Dyche. No quality in the team and toothless in attack. Not sure how Moyes can improve this team, as most of the players are Championship standard at best!

Adam: Positive signs against a very good Villa side. Moyes seems to have given us a bit of confidence, especially in the first half, and added some much needed width to our game. We have too many players wanting time on the ball and need to find the net of course. I'm mildly optimistic for the rest of the season.

Tommo: Good effort put in from Everton, but we lack quality up front. I don't think Villa came out of third gear really. Moyes needs to go to market.

Aston Villa fans

Theo: Scrappy game but a lot of positives including clean sheet, Watkins goal, Buendia getting minutes and most of all Kamara continuing his good form after his return from injury. On to Arsenal with high hopes of getting something.

Domo: Overall, not a bad performance. I still do not understand why we get ourselves into so much trouble in defence. This passing along the goal mouth perplexes me. Still, a win is a win.

Martyn: It was never going to be easy with Everton's managerial bounce and we made it so difficult for ourselves with so many missed chances. Watkins finally hit the barn door and the three points keeps us in the elite mix. Monaco here we come. Onwards and upwards!

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

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In recent years, we have more often heard managers say that the performance is the really important thing.

There is a logic here; there is only so much that can be within a manager's control, so the best you can hope for is to get your team to follow the plan and, if the performances are right, over time the results will be too.

The problem with this is that life is not always fair like that. Everyone knows, even if they do not say it, that results are the only metric that matters. There is no column in the league table for style marks. So, although this website's report on Aston Villa's win at Everton reads like a one-star review of a B-movie, Unai Emery was delighted.

"Very happy," he said quietly to radio reporters, his voice reduced to a reedy croak by an evening of yelling. "We have broken our barren spell away. In the Premier League it has been very important to try to get three points, try to get a clean sheet and recover a bit of confidence."

'Everton nil' were the words he most wanted to hear. He added: "Yes, of course the clean sheet, because we have conceded a lot of goals. It's not normal this year how many goals we are conceding.

"Of course we are analysing, we are trying to recover confidence and recover our structure as strong as possible defensively. Today I think was one good step forward."

Emery has cut a rather frustrated figure at times recently, especially as his team have dropped points from winning positions against Bournemouth, Nottingham Forest and Brighton. In fact, the statistics show us that they are conceding goals this season (32 in 21 league games) at more or less the same rate as last (61 in 38), but with the team a little less productive at the other end, the stakes for those mistakes have felt higher.

For Ollie Watkins to score the winner, then, made it a doubly encouraging evening. He played all 90 minutes, rather than making way for Jhon Duran in the second half - a relatively rare occurrence this season - and his goal was his first apart from penalties since November.

While Duran, still young, is liable to have bursts of stellar form, it still feels as though Watkins is the more consistent player in the long run. Football managers cannot depend on much in such a capricious business, and a back-in-form Watkins is a man Emery must know he can trust.

Listen to full commentary of Arsenal v Aston Villa at 17:30 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio WM

Tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

Aston Villa have started talks with English midfielder Louie Barry, 21, over a new contract amid interest from Celtic. (Football Insider), external

Aston Villa have been approached by Galatasaray over the possibility of a deal for Brazilian Diego Carlos, 31. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Thursday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Watch highlights and analysis from eight midweek Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day, you can catch up now on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Chelsea 2-2 Bournemouth

• Nottingham Forest 1-1 Liverpool

• Everton 0-1 Aston Villa

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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery, speaking to Match of the Day: "Very happy. A tough match. We played 90 minutes and competed very well.

"We had some clear chances in the first half and we tried to push and take even more control in the second but we couldn't, but we scored.

"This victory is very important. We have started the year winning at home, in the Premier League and in the FA Cup. Away, we were in a bad spell and had to break it."

On David Moyes' job at Everton: "It will take time to play in their style, but the players were the same players that we expected. To get three points is very difficult and we're very happy."

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa's Morgan Rogers, speaking to Premier League Productions: "It's a big win. We knew beforehand we had to win and get through this drought away from home.

"It's such a tough place to come, and we were scrapping in the second half but those wins are sweeter than the ones where you win comfortably.

"My job is to provide and Ollie [Watkins] movement is so good. He is so good at holding the ball up in the channels and taking the pressure off.

"We defended the box really well. We had to be strong and resolute and we were outstanding defensively. We've got three wins in the new year and we will keep pushing on."

Were you at the game or following from elsewhere?

Have your say on Everton's performance

What did you make of Aston Villa's display?

Come back to this page on Thursday to find a selection of your replies