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Aston Villa vs. Arsenal LIVE: Latest updates as Trossard equalises early in second half

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Arsenal head to Aston Villa looking to extend their lead at the top of the Premier League table, and you follow it all live with ESPN.

Mikel Arteta's side can go eight points clear with a victory at Villa Park, though the hosts are also in impressive form.

Follow along for live commentary and the latest updates from Aston Villa vs Arsenal with our live blog:

Arsenal vs Aston Villa Preview

Arsenal travel to Villa Park to face Aston Villa in the early kickoff on Saturday with quite a lot of stake. Villa's recent exploits have meant that they are now third, just six points behind league leading Arsenal and they'll be looking to ramp up the pressure on Mikel Arteta's men.

Arteta welcomed back to fitness centre-forwards Viktor Gyokeres and Gabriel Jesus but now has three centre-backs facing fitness issues. Gabriel Magalhães and Christhian Mosquera are out, while William Saliba faces a race to be fit. This could mean he has to pair Jurrien Timber with Piero Hincapie again -- like he did for so much of the mid-week match vs Brentford -- and as good as they (and second-choice right Ben White) are, Unai Emery will sense a weakness to exploit there.

His misfiring centre-forward Ollie Watkins seems to have rediscovered his scoring touch (a brace vs Brighton & Hove Albion in the mid-week) and his hard-running attitude -- along with Morgan Rogers' vision -- will be key for the home side.

Mikel Merino's goalscoring has been a big bonus for Arteta this calendar year (as we discuss here in our 5 talking points ahead of the match) but Declan Rice's dodgy fitness may mean he has to return to his day role in midfield. Arsenal will be hoping Gyokeres can then step up on return to full fitness and provide the goalscoring edge.