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EA Sports preview – Aston Villa v Arsenal

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Villa ArsenalHere are eight things you should know about Aston Villa and Arsenal before their Premier League clash at Villa Park tonight:

1. Christian Benteke’s goal-scoring woes continued against Sunderland, with the striker failing to find the back of the net again. He did, however, impress in other areas of the pitch, with his passing in particular a joy to behold. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that completed a total of 21 passes in the opposition half – more than any other in the Villa team.

2. Ashley Westwood completed another 90 minutes, underlining his status as an integral member of the Villa team. The former Sheffield United man has completed 1507 minutes this season, which is more than any other player in the Villa squad.

3. The injury of Libor Kozak will be a bitter blow to Paul Lambert’s men, as the tall striker has made a solid start to life at Aston Villa. Despite Lambert favouring Benteke over the Czech Republican, Kozak has still managed to score four goals, which is unsurprising considering his excellent shooting record (he’s hit the target with 78% of his efforts).

4. Marc Albrighton has impressed since returning from a loan spell at Wigan, with his passing being a particular highlight. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index demonstrates that he has completed a pass in the opposition half at a rate of a pass every four minutes.

5. Two goals in the last three minutes guided Arsenal to a 2-0 victory over Cardiff in their last Premier League outing, but truth be told, this did not reflect Arsenal’s level of dominance. Theo Walcott, in particular, was a constant menace as he took a total of eight shots – the most in the league.

6. Walcott’s absence in the forthcoming months will most definitely be felt by the Arsenal team, as over recent weeks he has returned to sparkling form. This is probably clearest through the fact that he has made 10 goal-scoring contributions (based on goals and assists), in only 13 appearances.

7. Arsene Wenger’s plethora of quality midfielders has meant that he has the option to rotate players such as Mathieu Flamini and Jack Wilshere. Mikel Arteta was given one of the coveted central midfield berths against Cardiff, and his excellent passing ability was on show all afternoon. The EA SPORTS Player Performance Index shows that he completed a pass in Cardiff’s half every 1.6 minutes.

8. Who to start in the ‘number 10’ role must be a constant dilemma for Wenger, with talented players such as Mesut Ozil and Wilshere eager to play there. Santi Cazorla started there against the Bluebirds and was impressive, making a total of 58 attacking contributions (based on passes in the opposition half, crosses, dribbles and shots on target).

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