The major new worry at the Emirates as 2025 drew to a close surrounded a knee issue picked up by Declan Rice. Rumours about the influential England midfielder being out ahead of the Villa game proved to be true, with Rice missing out on the matchday squad entirely, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be back for Arsenal’s first game of 2026.

An emphatic win over a title rival answered many of the questions that had been bubbling up around Mikel Arteta's side

Preview the matchup between Arsenal FC and Aston Villa with predictions, odds, over/under, betting lines and more.

The news ahead of kick-off that Declan Rice had been ruled out with a knee injury was a major blow for Arsenal. When a player as influential as Rice is out there is an obvious danger of falling into confirmation bias, assuming any faults are down to their absence.

Emi Martinez was caught up in a fiery-looking altercation with the Arsenal supporters after the former Gunners goalkeeper endured a night to forget at the Emirates

Gabriel Magalhaes breathed fresh life into Arsenal's Premier League title challenge by opening the scoring in an emphatic win over Aston Villa on Tuesday. The defender's goal at the start of the second half sparked the Gunners into life,

The England international picked up the problem in Arsenal’s 2–1 win over Brighton & Hove Albion at the weekend, a fixture in which he was forced to fill in as an emergency right back. Rice played the full 90 minutes at the Emirates, but a late fitness test puts him on the sidelines for his club’s final match of 2025.

The EA Sports FC 26 Team of the Week 16 squad will be released this week, replacing the EA Sports FC 26 TOTW 15 currently available in packs for Ultimate Team.

Arsenal could be one of the busier sides in the January transfer window, after Mikel Arteta suggested that his side will be keeping tabs on any available deals over the coming weeks.