Preview: Arsenal's quick-fire rise a threat to Aston Villa’s ambitions

When Dean Smith’s team completed a first season double over the Gunners with a 1-0 home win last February, Villa sat four points clear of their rivals with two matches in hand.

The past 13 months, then, have seen a significant shift. Villa’s rapid progress during the first half of last season stalled to such an extent Smith lost his job, while under Mikel Arteta, Arsenal have recovered impressively from what as recently as August appeared a dangerous spiral.

Since losing the first three matches of the season, a run which put Arteta on the brink of the sack, the Gunners have won 16 of the next 24 in the Premier League, including five straight victories before Wednesday night’s defeat to title-chasing Liverpool.

Fourth in the table, with games in hand over every rival below, they are the clear favourites to secure a return to the Champions League and, aside from Liverpool and Manchester City, they represent the sternest test of Villa’s run-in.

Their resurgence is in some respects depressing for Villa and any other member of the division’s aspiring classes who viewed them as one member of the ‘Big Six’ which might potentially be in long-term decline. The harsh reality is while all are capable of an off-season, years of financial supremacy over the rest ensures they are never at risk of total collapse. Just when you think you’ve got them, they accelerate away once more.

Villa began the season hoping to make their mark at the top end of the table and in that aim they are going to fall well short. A ninth-placed finish is now surely the best they can do. In 11 matches against the top eight they have taken only four points.

The opportunity to improve that record is among the motivations tomorrow, then, together with avenging October’s sorry 3-1 defeat at the Emirates. While there might be a tendency to glance at the table and think Villa have little left to play for, Gerrard certainly does not see it that way and those players yet to convince the boss they should be part of the long-term plan cannot afford to relax.

“I need to analyse that and make sure we make the right decisions moving forward,” said Gerrard, in the aftermath of Sunday’s 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

That fixture was the first of five straight for Villa against teams above them in the table and Gerrard continued: “We have to be really mindful of how we can be better prepared next time we play against West Ham and the Chelseas, Citys, Liverpools, and see what we need. There’s certainly a gap in terms of results.”

Villa are expected to be without Lucas Digne after the left-back suffered a muscle injury early in the defeat at West Ham. Ashley Young will deputise again in the backline with teenage prospect Ben Chrisene likely to be on the bench.