Aston Villa v Arsenal: Villans need a swift response as stumble threatens their impetus

Dean Smith’s team have now lost four of their last six Premier League matches and three out of five since returning from the coronavirus outbreak which temporarily halted their campaign.

Context is obviously required when assessing such a statistic. The first two of those defeats were narrow and came against the current top two while the third, a 3-2 defeat at Burnley, saw Villa produce some of their best football of the season in the first half.

Undoubtedly, it was the manner of the 3-1 defeat to the Hammers which prompted some concern. Villa looked lethargic and generally second best to everything.

Of course, it may well have been a one-off. Yet the fear, when placed alongside last Saturday’s battling but somewhat fortunate win at Southampton, will be Wednesday’s setback indicated a team feeling the pace of a hectic schedule which has seen them play five matches in 15 days.

If that is the case, the fact Villa are now facing their shortest turnaround of the campaign does them few favours. There will have been just 62 hours between Wednesday night’s final whistle and kick-off against Arsenal tomorrow lunchtime.

“I’ve no doubts the lads will be ready,” said Smith. “Scheduling is always going to be a problem.

“The fact we have played at 8.15 on a Wednesday and then are the first game of the weekend at 12.30 on Saturday certainly doesn’t help us. But we will be ready for Arsenal, that is for sure.”

If nothing else Wednesday’s defeat may have been evidence of how important Villa’s squad will be over the second half of the season.

To this point, Smith has used the fewest players and made the fewest substitutions of any manager in the top flight.

The irony is the one change he did make to Villa’s set-up against the Hammers probably hurt the team. Moving John McGinn into a more advanced position allowed the visitors to dominate midfield, with the recalled Anwar El Ghazi taken off at half-time after struggling to make an impression.

“I’m disappointed with myself that I flipped the system. I probably should have kept it as it was,” said Smith.

“We have been harder to beat but on Wednesday we conceded too many attempts on goal and maybe that was me changing it.

“We played with one sitter and two attacking midfielders because I felt we could play the other side of (West Ham).

“It didn’t happen as often as I wanted. I thought our concentration levels were not as good as they have been. The first and second goals were down to that.”

While Villa are eager to get back on track, there is an argument Arsenal, a point and a place behind the hosts in the table but having played two matches more, arrive in the Midlands more in need of a result, particularly after their implosion at Molineux on Tuesday night.

Still, there is an onus on Villa to respond and ensure they stay comfortably in touch with the top six contenders. Despite having now lost both this season’s fixtures to West Ham, Smith’s team are still in a position where they would move above the Hammers if they win their matches in hand.

This is a season where fortunes can and have altered quickly. Champions Liverpool, supposedly back on track after beating the Hammers at the weekend, are once more in crisis after losing to Brighton.

Villa have generally responded well to setbacks. November’s 3-0 win over Arsenal at the Emirates, one of their stand-out performances of the season so far, came after back-to-back defeats to Leeds and Southampton.

“We are only too aware (how quickly things change),” said Smith. “We have lost too many games for my liking.

“Our mantra before was being hard to beat and we took that into the Southampton game. On Wednesday I didn’t think we were hard to beat.”

Villa can complete a league double over the Gunners for the first time since the 1992-93 season.