Aston Villa sacked head coach Steven Gerrard after losing 3-0 away at Fulham. The former Liverpool midfielder started the season with six defeats, three draws and just two wins which was enough for the Birmingham-based club to pull the plug.
Arsenal were one of the sides to inflict defeat upon Villa earlier this season in a 2-1 match in which the scoreline certainly failed to tell the story of the dominant Gunners' victory. A narrative between the two clubs had grown somewhat over the past couple of years however the recent plight of Villa and the latest rejection compound any hopes the club had of surpassing the Gunners.
Despite winning the race to sign Emiliano Buendia from Norwich ahead of Arsenal, Villa ultimately have continued to fall further and further away from the Gunners. Whilst Mikel Arteta has steered his side to the league’s summit, Villa find themselves dancing with relegation sitting joint 18th in the table with Wolves on nine points and a minus-nine goal difference.
