New Aston Villa signing Leon Goretzka in a circular element, and Aston Villa manager Unai Emery

Leon Goretzka and Unai EmeryImago

Aston Villa predicted XI vs Arsenal - Goretzka straight in, two defenders axed after Brighton flop

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Published on:

28 Aug 2026, 4:10 pm

Aston Villa started their Premier League campaign with a whimper against Brighton last time out.

The Villans were soundly beaten in a 4-0 defeat at the Amex Stadium, with all four goals coming in a dismal first half.

To compound matters, new boy Joao Gomes was also sent off in the opening period.

Unai Emery is not a man to panic, and last season started slowly but ended with a fourth-place finish and a Europa League trophy.

Still, there is no point pretending there isn't a concern after a summer of upheaval to the first-team squad.

With that in mind, Villa News is predicting Emery to make five changes for the visit of the Gunners to Villa Park on Monday.

Zion Suzuki set for debut as Pau Torres axed for Aston Villa

Villa were all at sea defensively against Brighton, which will be Emery's biggest concern ahead facing Mikel Arteta's side.

Marco Bizot finished with a negative goals prevented rate of -0.41, and it might be that Emery now hands a debut to Japan international Zion Suzuki following his arrival at centre-back.

Emery will not want to panic too much, so Matty Cash could remain at right-back with Victor Lindelof starting at on the right of a two-man centre-back pairing.

Pau Torres struggled badly against the Seagulls, though, completing only 74 per cent of passes in his own half, winning zero of his ground duels, committing an error leading to a goal, and being dribbled past twice.

As such, he might look to the experience of Tyrone Mings to shore things up a little at the back.

Ian Maatsen had a difficult game at left-back, too, winning just two of eight total duels. Emery could look to give Matteo Ruggeri a first start as a result.

Why Leon Goretzka a better tactical fit for Aston Villa after nightmare Joao Gomes debut

Emery to hand Leon Goretzka immediate Villa debut

Gomes getting sent off gives Emery another headache in a midfield decimated by injuries.

Leon Goretzka's arrival on a free transfer from Bayern Munich is timely and, while it represents a risk, Emery could throw him straight in against Arsenal to play alongside Boubacar Kamara.

John McGinn was out of sorts against Brighton, finishing with a pass accuracy of just 52 per cent (dropping to 50 per cent in the opposition half), but you would expect him to retain his place.

With Villa still short of strikers and Ollie Watkins essentially out of the door, Emi Buendia will probably continue as a 'false nine' even though he failed to have a shot on target last time out.

Consequently, Ross Barkley could keep his spot in a more advanced attacking midfield role, but Emery might be tempted to sit youngster George Hemmings out of this one and go with Alejandro Garnacho on the left flank.

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