Arsenal ‘take confidence’ after what’s happened at Aston Villa
Arsenal could look to learn from Aston Villa as the end of the season looms at the Emirates.
The Villans are still fighting on two fronts with an FA Cup semi-final against Crystal Palace coming up on Saturday (26 April).
This comes just days after falling to a frustrating 2-1 defeat against Manchester City as a Marcus Rashford penalty was cancelled out by a 94th-minute Matheus Nunes strike.
Even with that in mind, the Gunners could be in line to take a leaf out of Unai Emery’s book in the final weeks of the campaign.
Arsenal to learn from Aston Villa success
Ahead of the campaign, Mikel Arteta’s side looked destined to be in a title race, but now sit second in the Premier League, 13 points off leaders Liverpool.
This will come as a disappointment to the North London faithful, although the Champions League represents a bright prospect.
Arteta’s side secured a 4-1 aggregate win against Real Madrid in the quarter-final, while the Villans were dumped out in narrow fashion.
Despite goals from Youri Tielemans, John McGinn and Ezri Konsa at Villa Park, Emery’s men fell to a 5-4 aggregate loss.
Now the Parisian outfit are preparing for a clash against the Gunners in the final four of Europe’s elite competition in the coming weeks.
| Date | Game | Stadium | |
| 29/04/25 | First leg | Arsenal v PSG | Emirates Stadium |
| 07/05/24 | Second leg | PSG v Arsenal | Parc Des Princes |
Alan Shearer believes that Arteta can learn from what the B6 club did against the Ligue 1 giants to succeed in the Champions League.
Speaking on The Rest Is Football on 22 April, he said: “What they’ll [Arsenal] take confidence in is what Aston Villa did to PSG, particularly in the second half.
“They went after them, pressed them and harassed them. I think they’ll look at that game and think they’ll have a chance.”
Aston Villa so nearly secured PSG win
The night at Villa Park was one of the greatest in many fans’ memories despite ultimately suffering an aggregate defeat against the French side.
When Konsa tucked home a superb effort after some excellent work from Rashford, the home faithful were believing of what could happen.
Although progression to the semi-final didn’t happen, there was still plenty to be positive about as the full-time whistle sounded in the West Midlands.
There is no doubt that PSG represented a tough task and will once again look to get past another English side with a win against Arsenal.