The Great Pretenders

Last updated : 26 December 2008 By Tom Vickers
Arsenal come to Villa Park with a plethora of players on the sidelines and a wounded sense of pride as Villa look to cement their spot in the top four of the Premier League.

Although they may be down, the Gunners are certainly not out and Villa will have to beware a side looking to restore their reputation among the pantheon of English football.

The Claret and Blue will be backed by a full house in the Midlands and the home faithful are definitely in the festive mood after three successive wins in December.

The last time Villa fans had it so good at Christmas was in 1998 when they saw their side sitting pretty at the top of the Premier League. John Gregory's Villans eventually succumbed to the league's big boys and finished in a rather disappointing seventh position.

The club failed to strengthen during the middle part of the season and consequently paid the price.

Fans will be hoping that it is different this time around and while no one is realistically considering the prospects of a title coming to Villa Park, they remain hopeful that their side can finish above Arsenal et al.

Arsene Wenger has looked more dejected than ever this season and there is real belief at Villa that this may finally be the year that the big four are broken up.

Unless Arsenal strengthen in the transfer window then they seem certain to falter on a regular basis and without captain Cesc Fabregas, who is out for four months, they lack inspiration in midfield.

Powerhouses

The game against Villa will obviously come too soon for Wenger to bring in reinforcements and Martin O'Neill's men have the ideal opportunity to do the double over their illustrious rivals.

The Claret and Blue outpaced and outclassed the Gunners at Emirates stadium earlier in the season as Gabriel Agbonlahor strengthened his England claims.

Now, Villa will be looking for more of the same on their own turf but they may have to do it without influential skipper Martin Laursen and Spanish centre half Carlos Cuellar.

Both defenders face a race against time in order to get fit and Arsenal would undoubtedly be encouraged should Laursen fail to make it.

The big Dane has been immense again this season just as he was throughout the whole of the last campaign.

Should Villa be missing both powerhouses, Zat Knight and Nigel Reo-Coker will step into the breach.

Arsenal have even bigger injury problems with Theo Walcott, Tomas Rosicky and Fabregas among those on the sidelines. Emmanuel Adebayor will also be missing after seeing red against Liverpool last Sunday.

Consequently, Villa have a real chance to prove that the win at Emirates in November was no one off.

They also have the opportunity to prove to the few remaining doubters that they are not the Great Pretenders but the Real Deal.