Aston Villa vs Arsenal - Premier League LIVE: Nicolas Jackson is handed his Villa debut by Unai Emery - as Ezri Konsa starts on the bench for the Gunners after his summer switch

Unai Emery, Aston Villa boss, on Sky Sports:

Right, I just want to talk about this fella for a second.

I'm pretty sure nobody gave a hoot when Arsenal signed Christos Tszolis in the summer; it didn't seem the most inspiring of transfers initially.

But after shining in pre-season and in the opener against Coventry City, people are taking notice of just how good the Greek winger is. He's the new Leandro Trossard, but much better.

The man can score, create, and most of all just cause a serious number of problems for opposition defences.

People may be worrying about Arsenal's attacking on the left-hand side, but trust me, they are in safe hands with Tzolis.

They just need to make sure he doesn't get injured... otherwise they're cooked.

Aston Villa have a decent recent history against Arsenal, certainly at Villa Park.

Villa have won four of their seven home games against Arsenal since their return to the Premier League in 2019 (L3), more than they had in their first 24 against them at Villa Park in the competition (W3 D9 L12).

The most recent of those came last season, and I think we all know exactly what happened.

Emi Buendia scored with the very last kick of the game to stun Arsenal, who were sitting pretty at the top of the table. The scenes at Villa Park were absolutely incredible.

I remember thinking that it could be the start of a rough patch for Arsenal, and it could unravel their bid for the Premier League title.

How wrong I was.

Chris Sutton, former Premier League striker, on BBC Sport:

No, don't worry... Villa Park is not falling down.

The iconic stadium will look very different tonight, and for the next two seasons, though. That's because they are doing a redevelopment of the North Stand ahead of Euro 2028.

It means that the stadium now has a reduced capacity of 37,000, and I have to say, it is much less intimidating to play in. Well, it doesn't look like it will be as intimidating, at least.

It almost looks like the infamous Kassam Stadium in Oxford... and that is not a good thing.

Mikel Arteta is joining an exclusive club.

I've already told you about his landmark as a manager, but it comes with an even more interesting stat.

Arteta is about to become just the second person to both play (284) and manage (250) at least 250 Premier League games.

The other person to do it? That is none other than Mark Hughes, who, well, was a baller. The Welshman played 297 games in the league and managed 466.

Not bad company, eh?

It's milestone after milestone at the moment for Mikel Arteta.

He achieved his 150th Premier League win as a manager only last week when Arsenal beat Coventry, and now it's another landmark day for the Spaniard.

Today he brings up his 250th Premier League game in charge of Arsenal, quite the feat. And it's also 15 years to the day since he joined the Gunners as a player.

The 31 August is now a special day for more than one reason.

It's crazy to think that when he joined the club as manager in December 2019, Arsenal were a bit of a joke. They were in their so-called 'banter era'.

But after a sticky start, in which they had to stick with Arteta, the Spaniard has rewarded their trust by bringing them back to the top of English football.

What a journey.

Unai Emery, Aston Villa boss, speaking ahead of the game:

Aston Villa's start to the season could not have gone much worse.

I mean, they went 4-0 down away at Brighton inside 31 minutes. Yep, you are reading that correctly. Oh yeah, and new signing Joao Gomes got sent off on his debut, which means he can't play today.

So yeah, it was one of the biggest unravellings I have seen from a team on the opening day of the season. I couldn't believe what I was watching, and neither could Unai Emery; he was going mental.

As I said before, it's been a real summer of change for Villa; they have had their entire spine ripped out. Emi Martinez, gone. Ezri Konsa, gone. Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers, gone. And Ollie Watkins, gone.

But despite a horrific few weeks, their heart is still beating. That heart is Unai Emery, and with him still at the helm, they still have a chance.

After what happened at the Amex, I think most people believe they are just going to get trampled on tonight, but Emery and Co will be hungry to prove people wrong.

A chance to get back on track against the champions.

Ezri Konsa must be feeling a little weird.

He has just made the walk he has always done for the past seven years, getting off the team bus and walking into Villa Park.

But this time, rather than walking into the usual home dressing room, he is in the away one. It must feel strange for him.

Konsa only made the move from Arsenal to Villa a couple of weeks ago after seven years at Villa Park and has yet to even play for the Gunners.

He doesn't start tonight, but I do wonder whether he will get any minutes on the turf he used to call home.

And if he does, what will the reaction from the fans be?

Tom Collomosse at Villa Park:

Why change a winning formula, eh?

Mikel Arteta has opted to stick with the same starting XI that beat Coventry City on the opening day.

New signing and former Aston Villa defender Ezri Konsa has to settle for a spot on the bench.

Ethan Nwaneri is omitted yet again, but Bruno Guimaraes is fit enough for the bench.