Declan Rice in huge injury blow as Arsenal midfielder set to miss Premier League title showdown with Aston Villa

Rice suffered the injury against Brighton but was still able to complete the 90 minutes as the Gunners won 2-1. He had been hoping to shrug off the injury and face Villa but Arsenal have decided against risking their midfielder against the Villans for fear he could make the problem worse, according to The Athletic. Rice is not expected to be out for long but his absence for such an important match will be a real blow to Mikel Arteta and his side. Villa beat Arsenal 2-1 earlier in December and head into the match on the back of an impressive 11-game winning streak. Victory for Emery's side will see Villa join Arsenal at the top of the table on 42 points.

Rice had been expected to feature at right-back again for Arsenal against Aston Villa but Arteta will now have to change his plans. However, the Arsenal boss could be boosted by the return from injury of Jurrien Timber and Ben White. Timber missed the win over Brighton but is expected to be fit to face Emery's high-flyers, while White is said to be "ahead of schedule" as he works his way back from a hamstring problem and may also make the squad. Gabriel could also return to the starting line-up for Arsenal, but Arteta is expected to once again be without injured stars such as Max Dowman, Cristhian Mosquera, Ben White, Kai Havertz and Riccardo Calafiori.

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Arteta says his team have learned from their previous defeat to Aston Villa as he plots revenge and the chance to extend his team's lead at the top of the table. He told reporters: "We’ll watch it back. I have a few ideas and things that we have to do better. And it was quite cruel, as well, the way we lost it. But yeah, we learned from it."

The Arsenal boss also hopes his team can continue a six-game winning run at home and dominant the game. He added: "Well, that's what we want, that every opponent that comes here suffers, and we are as dominant as we were today for the majority of the game and against Villa. We have a really tough match, we know them, what they’re doing and a beautiful game as well to prepare and play."

Another victory for Villa would boost their Premier League title hopes, but Emery has played down talk that his team can finish the season on top of the pile before the game. He told a pre-match press conference: "Two years ago, we were finishing the first half of the season with 39 points. Just now, we have 39 points and you were asking the same question. You were making the same question two years ago. We had 39 points on game 19 and we finished fourth in the Champions League position. Of course, that was fantastic, but speaking about the title for me does not make sense for us. Now, in December, it does not make sense. Of course, we are motivated, but, for the moment, we have momentum for the match we want to play tomorrow. There is three points different between them and us, this is our motivation, but if we are thinking today about [after] 38 [games] - then life is passing and we are not enjoying."

Tuesday's game is the last fixture of 2025 for Arsenal and Villa, with both teams eager to see out the year with three points. Arsenal then head into a testing month with January bringing Premier League fixtures against Bournemouth, Liverpool, Nottingham Forest and Manchester United. The Gunners also take on Inter and Kairat in the Champions League, Portsmouth in the FA Cup and Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup.