Arsenal are expected to revive their interest in Aston Villa's 25-year-old Brazil midfielder Douglas Luiz this summer. (Football Insider, external)
Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column
Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton says Ollie Watkins is a "great all-rounder" and should be second choice to Harry Kane in England's Euro 2024 squad.
Leicester defender Conor Coady talks through Watkins' goal against Arsenal on Sunday, saying the 28 year-old "has every type of finish" to score goals for Aston Villa and the Three Lions.
Listen to the full episode here
"No tactics, no formation, nowhere to hide" read the "Emery Out!" cards Arsenal fans held up at Emirates Stadium back in 2019, before the sacking of Unai Emery.
Karma has paid back Emery in full now, with a Premier League double over the Gunners that seriously dents their title hopes, to add to his earlier victory when he knocked them out of the Europa League with Villarreal in 2021.
Villa's strong home form under Emery propelled them into the top four in the first half of the season. However, despite back-to-back wins over Manchester City and Arsenal within a week, their performances at Villa Park dropped off.
Since that home victory over the Gunners back in December, they have won only three of eight at Villa Park, ranking them 15th in terms of home record in the division during this time.
The potential of Villa's season looked like it could become compromised. Injuries and suspensions kicked in and the defence started to leak silly goals, while Emery juggled his pack attempting damage limitation.
However, Villa's 2-0 win at Emirates Stadium showcased the transformative away form that has kept them in the Champions League hunt. In the same period their home form has waned, they have the joint-second-best Premier League points haul on their travels, alongside the Gunners.
Emery's tactics, formation and his boldness have navigated Villa through a challenging season - both domestically and in Europe.
The win at the Emirates comes at an important time, giving players and supporters a second wind of confidence to hopefully fulfil their ambition on both fronts.
David Michael can be found at My Old Man Said, external
On the latest episode of BBC Radio 5 Live's Monday Night Club, Leicester City defender Conor Coady spoke about Aston Villa forward Ollie Watkins, who he feels has "been taken to an absolute new level" by manager Unai Emery.
Coady also spoke about the difference between defending against Watkins and Manchester City's Erling Haaland, saying the Englishman is "always looking to do something and constantly on the move".
Watch Monday Night club on BBC iPlayer or listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds
BBC Sport's chief football writer Phil McNulty has been answering your questions on all things Premier League.
@James57181856 on 'X' asked: If Ollie Watkins was playing for one of the top three, with the goals he has scored, would he be guaranteed to be on the plane for the Euros?
Phil answered: Well, he's playing for one of the top four and he's got a great chance of going to Germany. A lot now depends on what Gareth Southgate is looking for as an understudy to Harry Kane, especially after Ivan Toney did so well against Belgium recently.
Watkins has not quite made his mark for England yet but he is having an outstanding season.
It's going to be a tough choice (he could take both of course) – and Watkins can't do more than he is doing for Aston Villa.
Alan Shearer
BBC Sport columnist
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa's victory over Arsenal was certainly no smash and grab.
In contrast, it was a tactical masterclass by Unai Emery, whose side had already hit the woodwork twice before Leon Bailey put them ahead late on.
Arsenal did not really create anything in the second half and Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez only made one big save, from Leandro Trossard, in the 90 minutes.
Villa were outstanding defensively, but they were not set up just to keep Arsenal out. They were very brave, in that they always committed plenty of men forward too, and they got their reward.
I would describe it as a proper away performance, and close to a perfect one.
What made it even more impressive is that they had played on Thursday in the Europa Conference League as well.
Alan Shearer was speaking to BBC Sport's Chris Bevan
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer Aston Villa striker Emile Heskey believes Ollie Watkins should "definitely" be in England's Euro 2024 squad.
Watkins scored his 19th league goal of the season against Arsenal on Sunday and equalled the club record for the most in a campaign in the Premier League era.
The 28-year-old, who has scored 26 times in 45 games this season, is now just one behind Erling Haaland in the race for the Premier League Golden Boot.
The ex-Brentford forward's form this campaign puts him in a strong position to be named in Gareth Southgate's England squad for this summer's tournament.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live Breakfast, Heskey said: "Ollie [Watkins] gives you something different.
"We have this constant debate about whether he should be second in line as striker for the national team. He gives you that pace no-one likes to defend against. He gives you that option that if you want to go longer - not just lump it forward, but put the ball in behind with a little bit of guile.
"You can put it into positions where he can run on to it and he has shown he can finish when given that opportunity.
"He's had a fantastic season - not only for goals but also assists. I don't think he has taken a penalty yet so he has had a phenomenal season.
"You would think he has to be the second in line for the England striker role. He is definitely in."
Nick Mashiter
Senior football news reporter
Aston Villa's Champions League destiny is back in their hands – just as it seemed it could be slipping away.
In what could be a pivotal weekend at the top of the Premier League, Villa took advantage of the 4-0 thumping of Tottenham at Newcastle United to record arguably their best result under Unai Emery.
Sunday’s 2-0 win at Arsenal - a deserved one - restored their three-point cushion in fourth and served to underline their staying power in the race for the top four.
Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins condemned the Gunners to a first Premier League defeat since December as Emery returned to Emirates Stadium to show what he has achieved at Villa - unity, belief and courage.
It is something he was not able to fashion in his 18 months in charge of Arsenal - perhaps a case of right man, wrong time - but he is certainly in the perfect place at Villa Park.
Emery has consistently played down Villa's chances of gatecrashing the top four, insisting they are behind Chelsea and Manchester United in stature and quality.
Yet, even if Villa have not matched their rivals' past achievements, their future perhaps looks brighter.
Aston Villa sounded a warning that they will not be deflected from their target of a top-four place in the Premier League with an outstanding win at Arsenal.
The 2-0 victory leaves Villa three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth having played a game more - with no guarantee that finishing fifth would secure Champions League football next season.
Villa delivered virtually the complete performance under their elite manager Unai Emery, as he returned to the club that sacked him after only 18 months in November 2019 to put the skids under their title aspirations.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez produced a miraculous save from Leandro Trossard to keep Villa level at half-time, but Ollie Watkins had already struck the woodwork and another effort from Youri Tielemans after the break somehow stayed out after hitting the post and bar.
Villa's reward came in the shape of late goals from Leon Bailey and Watkins, sealing a win that will surely do wonders for self-belief and confidence as they chase that top-four goal as well as success in the Europa Conference League.
Diego Carlos and John McGinn were outstanding and, with Watkins providing quality and threat up front, Villa looked a class act.
Image source, Getty ImagesLeon Bailey hopes Aston Villa take confidence from a superb win at Arsenal.
Bailey struck to give Villa a deserved lead late on, before Ollie Watkins sealed the points.
"I definitely will take confidence from it and I think the team should take a lot of confidence from this game as well," Bailey said.
"The way we played, coming to the Emirates - I think the way we set out was so strong and I think the team really didn't give up too much and we created opportunities at the same time.
"I think from this, we should really take this game into consideration and give ourselves a lot of confidence moving forward."
Image source, Getty ImagesFormer Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha says Aston Villa showed impressive game awareness and "broke" Arsenal in Sunday's win.
Unai Emery's side carved out a huge result in the context of the chase for the top four, in what some have dubbed a tactical masterclass from the former Arsenal boss.
"I was really impressed by Aston Villa," said Onuoha on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast.
"They played out from the back from the start of the game to the end and there were times when they were under significant pressure from Arsenal because of it. But they stuck with it and they broke them.
"They could see that Arsenal were tiring and they showed that game awareness."
The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards added: "It was very clever attacking play and they looked really classy.
"We forget what a good season they have had and it was a great performance."
We asked for your thoughts on Arsenal's home defeat to Aston Villa.
Here are some of your answers:
Arsenal fans
Steve: Same old, same old Arsenal. Why change a winning midfield for a game like this? And with Havertz doing so well up front, unnecessary tinkering by Arteta means that once again City will win the title.
Dilan: Great first half by Arsenal. But I don't understand the substitutions in the second half. It seems like Arteta went more defensive taking off our best player in Odegaard. Arsenal are really missing a centre-forward. This loss is massive and it's all in the hands of Man City now.
Bob: I think we are forgetting that Villa aren't the push overs that most teams think they are. They are a very organised side who are fighting for a Champions League position. They fully deserved their victory and we were too hasty getting rid of Unai Emery.
Aston Villa fans
Scotty: A game of two halves as they say and an overall team performance which justified the three points. Compared to some recent games, we showed more determination, more energy and more desire to get the job done. And it is a massive confidence booster in our battle for the fourth spot which is now ours to lose.
Gary: I had hoped for a strong rear-guard performance and maybe nick one on the break, but I’d have been happy with a draw. What I didn’t expect was such a total team performance and a thoroughly deserved 2-0 win. This was arguably our best performance of the season.
Steveo: Some fabulous performances - Carlos immense, Martinez world class, Watkins so cool. We didn't have a bad player on the pitch - so maybe the London press will finally recognise our quality. Great day for Villa.
Jason Mohammad introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures.
If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.
Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:
Everton are keen on signing 28-year-old Belgium midfielder Leander Dendoncker, who is currently on loan at Napoli, from Aston Villa this summer. (Football Insider), external
Unai Emery spoke to BBC's Match of the Day after Aston Villa's win against Arsenal: "Very proud of the players, beating Arsenal here is very difficult and we needed to play and be focused 100% and being very demanding in everything and more organised defensively.
"We needed the biggest commitment to do better than we did against Manchester City, that was the sample we used for this match and then, tried to face them playing in this level because this is the level I want to get to with our players and progressively, we are getting better.
"Of course in 90 minutes, we struggled, maybe if they scored one goal the match would be different but we defended very well, we were very competitive in the first half. In the first half, there was more defending and in the second half, we were more competitive with the ball, tried to keep possession and tried to impose our position on the pitch.
"90 minutes is for everything. The first half, we were being consistent, we weren't doing bad defensively. We were trying to dominate with the ball, keep the possesion tight to avoid players.
"It is 38 matches, today we played number 33. Today, something is more difficult with some things, but we had to always try to learn and try to improve, try to get to our highest level individually and collectively. Today is a very good example, but we now, we need to keep going, move on positively and now, try to avoid circumstances like how last week, against Brentford at home. But this is the Premier League, the most difficult league in the world."
Image source, Getty ImagesAston Villa striker Ollie Watkins spoke to BBC Match of the Day after victory against Arsenal: "I felt like we grew into the game a lot. The longer Arsenal didn't create much, we could see from their body language that they were getting tired and definitely getting frustrated and I think we used that as momentum and motivation really. We grew into the game and we played some really good football.
"We didn't go long too much, the boss demanded that we played out and were brave. If we lost the ball and they scored from it, so be it, but that's the game plan and it worked today. We frustrated them and in both boxes, we were really good.
"When I saw Youri's [Tielemans] hit the bar and the post, I thought 'ah no, it's not going to be our day is it?' I was always calm that we were going to get something. We were frustrating them, we were creating lots of chances and we could see that they were getting tired and we kept plugging away and we stuck at it. I'm delighted with that, it's a massive win.
"Every day, the boss is really demanding. Whether we win or lose, it's back to the training field and work on what we need to do to perform on the pitch. That's one thing we're all very clear on is the game plan. When we're going in, we have long meetings. We had three meetings today, which is tiring but it's clear when you go on the pitch, what you need to do and what is going to happen.
"I think it is what it's about. As a striker, you want to score as many goals as possible. I'm not going to lie, I'm chasing that, I'm doing all that I can to help the team to win and for me to score as many goals and assists to my teammates as possible. I definitely have my eyes on the golden boot. I'm not going to lie to you."
Aston Villa are unbeaten in their past 10 Premier League games in London (W7 D3), including on all six trips so far this season (W5 D1) – among non-London sides, only Manchester United (3 times) have ever had a longer unbeaten run away from home in the capital.
Arsenal suffered a Premier League defeat for the first time since New Year’s Eve against Fulham (1-2), whilst they have now failed to score in two of their past four league games, having only gone goalless in three of their first 28 games this season.
Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey has been directly involved in seven goals as a substitute in the Premier League this season (three goals, four assists), more than any other player.
There were 21 shots in the first half of this game (14 by Arsenal, 7 by Aston Villa) with only Man City v Brentford in February (22) seeing more first half attempts without a goal being produced in a Premier League match this season. Meanwhile, Aston Villa scored with their only two shots on target in the game.
Ollie Watkins has scored 19 goals in the Premier League this season, the joint-most ever in a campaign for Aston Villa along with Christian Benteke in 2012-13. Only Erling Haaland (20) has scored more goals this term than the Englishman.
