Good afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for Sunday's early Premier League kickoff as struggling Aston Villa host Arsenal at Villa Park. These two sides are battling things out at opposite ends of the table as we approach the halfway stage of the season, and victory for either would be a big boost in their respective goals for the campaign. Let's start with a look at the two teams...

ASTON VILLA STARTING XI: Guzan; Hutton, Okore, Lescott, Bacuna; Gana, Veretout, Sanchez, Sinclair, Ayew; Gestede

ASTON VILLA SUBS: Bunn, Clark, Westwood, Traore, Gil, Lyden, Grealish

ARSENAL STARTING XI: Cech; Bellerin, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Monreal; Flamini, Ramsey, Walcott, Ozil, Campbell; Giroud

ARSENAL SUBS: Ospina, Debuchy, Gabriel, Gibbs, Chambers, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Iwobi

What can we make of those two sides, then? Well, Remi Garde has been boosted by the news that Rudy Gestede is fit to start today's game despite having been taken off through injury against Southampton last weekend, and he leads the line once again for the hosts. He will be flanked by Sinclair and Jordan Ayew, the latter of whom joins Gestede as Villa's top scorer in the league this season with just three goals.

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Indeed, it is an unchanged side for Villa from that draw with Southampton, which means that there is no Micah Richards once again. The defender is still sidelined with a knee injury, but is expected to return sooner rather than later. In the meantime, Okore and Lescott continue to partner up in the centre of defence, with the latter having scored his side's goal in that draw against the Saints last time out.

Behind them is Brad Guzan, who has certainly made some important contributions down the years for Villa but also holds an unenviable record. Since becoming the club's first-choice keeper, the American has conceded a whopping 202 goals - the most of any Premier League keeper in the same timeframe. In fairness, that is as much a reflection on Villa's struggles as a team over that period, but it gives an idea as to why they have consistently been in and around the relegation zone in recent seasons.

Bacuna is another who was forced off against Southampton but he too is fit to start today, along with Hutton on the opposite flank. The midfield trio remains the same, despite the return of Grealish to the squad after he was left out of the last two games due to off-the-field behaviour. He takes his place on the bench today and will be hoping to play some part in this match.

As for Arsenal, they are also unchanged from the memorable midweek win over Olympiacos as Wenger opts to avoid the temptation of resting players following their heroics in Greece. That, of course, means another start for the in-form Mesut Ozil, who has been in sensational form this season. He likes playing against Villa too, having both scored and assisted in his last two appearances against the Villans. The odds on him doing so again today would not be very long.

Another blame bang in form and with a good record against today's opponents is Olivier Giroud, who is one goal away from his 50th Premier League strike for the Gunners. He has scored in each of his last four appearances against Villa in all competitions and has four in his last two games for Arsenal following his hat-trick heroics on Wednesday. That good form stretches even further back to seven goals in eight games, and he is certainly going the right way to answering those who questioned whether he was good enough to lead the line for a title-winning team.

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Walcott and Campbell, the latter of whom netted against Sunderland in their most recent Premier League game, will join Ozil in offering support to Giroud, while Ramsey, who was also on the scoresheet against the Black Cats, is expected to sit a little deeper alongside Flamini. There are, of course, a number of notable absentees from that midfield, though, with Cazorla, Sanchez, Wilshere, Coquelin, Rosicky and Arteta all still sidelined through injury.

The back four remains the same from the one that kept a clean sheet in midweek, and should they prevent Villa from scoring today as well then it would be a record-equalling moment for Petr Cech. The veteran has kept 168 Premier League clean sheets during his illustrious career to date and needs just one more to equal the all-time record for a goalkeeper in the Premier League era, currently held by David James.

Villa will be keen to ensure that Cech does not reach the milestone on their own turf, but they will certainly go into this game as fairly hefty underdogs. Remi Garde's arrival has failed to spark an immediate upturn in fortunes for the Villans, and they are getting cut further and further adrift at the bottom of the table as the weeks go by. Eight points now separate them from safety after yesterday's results and, considering they have only picked up six all season so far, it looks to be an increasingly big ask.

Just how much trouble Villa are in can perhaps most accurately be summed up by the fact that this is their worst winless run in the club's 127-year history. Never before, since being formed way back in 1888, have they gone 14 league games without a victory, but that is the situation they find themselves in now. It is not like they have been drawing many of those games either, having shared the spoils on only three occasions and lost the other 11.

That gives them a meagre total of three points from the last 42 on offer since the opening day of the season. That 1-0 victory at Bournemouth remains their solitary maximum-point haul all season, coming back on August 8. There has been a minor improvement under Remi Garde - as points against Manchester City and Southampton will attest to - but they desperately need to starting picking up victories if they want to remain in the relegation battle.

They remain the only side yet to pick up a Premier League home victory this season, picking up a league-low two points in front of their own fans so far - the next worst record is eight points. They are also the lowest scorers at home with just five goals, failing to score in five of their last eight league outings in their own back yard. Their run of eight home league games without a victory is also a joint club record, equalling the totals set in 1921 and 1987.

The one hint of a positive - and Villa fans may need to try pretty hard to see this as a positive - is that they don't tend to get blown away at home. Their results may be poor - four defeats in their last five at home - but they haven't been beaten by more than one goal in front of their own fans since January, a spell of 15 games. That 2-0 defeat to Liverpool is the only time that it has happened in 2015 too.

They will take positives from their last outing as well as they held Southampton to a 1-1 draw, although they may feel that they should have picked up all three points having taken the lead through Joleon Lescott. Oriol Romeu got the equaliser for Southampton, but given the form Villa are in, it was not the worst result in the world. However, it did make it 10 points dropped from winning positions this season, which is the joint worst in the league alongside Newcastle.

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A defeat today, as is expected in many quarters, would set Villa on course for another record that they would rather not have. They have currently lost 23 league games in 2015 with four more to come, meaning that they could overtake the Premier League record for games lost in a calendar year. That is held by Ipswich at the moment, who lost 26 times in 1994, but with Newcastle and Norwich to come before the end of the year, Villa will be hoping that those crunch games can provide some points.

Not too many people will be tipping Villa to avoid defeat here, though, and Arsenal should be coming into this match absolutely flying following their Champions League exploits. Things looked bleak for the Gunners after two games of the group stage following defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos, but victory over Bayern Munich kept their qualification hopes on life support. They were blown away in the reverse fixture, but back-to-back 3-0 wins over Zagreb and Olympiacos saw them complete the great escape to qualify.

As I alluded to earlier, Giroud was the hero in midweek with his hat-trick, giving Arsenal the two-goal cushion they needed and then some. They potentially face a difficult test in the last 16 (yet again), with the likes of Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid lying in wait, but there is no doubt that the Gunners would rather be in the hat than joining Manchester United in the Europa League in February.

That Champions League revival seems to have helped things get back on track following Arsenal customary November wobble. The win over Zagreb was their only triumph in five games in November, but they have won two of two so far in December and come into this match unbeaten in four in all competitions. They have, however, only won one of their last four Premier League games, and failure to do so today would see them lose more ground in the title race following Man City's dramatic win yesterday.

Victory, however, would lift the Gunners above City and Leicester and back to the top of the table nearing the halfway point of the season. Whether they stay there when gameweek 16 is finished will depend on Leicester's result against Chelsea on Monday night, but they have a good chance to put the pressure on the Foxes here today. They have already seen Manchester United drop points this weekend and, with Liverpool and Spurs also still to play, they could steal a march on many of their prospective title rivals here.

All the stats certainly point to an Arsenal win here. Only Man United and Tottenham have conceded fewer goals than the Gunners this season, with their 13 being the same number that Villa's league-worst attack have scored. The Gunners have kept six clean sheets from their 15 games this season, although the last of those arrived in October. At the other end of the pitch, only three teams have scored more than Arsenal, while only three teams have conceded more than Villa.

It also pitches the worst home record in the league against one of the best away records. Only Leicester have amassed more points on the road than Arsenal this season, and the Foxes are also the only team to have scored more goals away from home. Stretching back to last season they have won 10 and lost just two of their last 14 Premier League away games, although their last victory on their travels did come back in October. They are winless in two since then, losing to West Bromwich Albion and drawing with Norwich.

Perhaps the biggest contrast between the two teams can be seen in their record throughout 2015, though. While Villa could still break that record for number of league games lost in a calendar year, Arsenal have accrued 72 points so far in 2015 - the highest tally of any team in the league. They face a huge match at home to Man City next weekend, with Southampton and Bournemouth still to come after that, so they will be confident of increasing that total further still before the new year.

PREDICTION: We're 10 minutes from kickoff at Villa Park, which means that it is time for a prediction! Everything points to an Arsenal victory today, and I can't see anything but the Gunners coming away with all three points to be honest. As mentioned earlier, Villa are rarely soundly beaten in front of their own fans, so it is unlikely to be a rout, but I'm going for a 2-0 Arsenal win.

We were, unsurprisingly, in agreement over the fate of this match on the Sports Mole Premier League preview podcast this week, with neither of us giving Villa much of a chance. Listen to what we had to say below:

I'm afraid there is one more grim history lesson for Villa fans coming up - Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 16 visits to Villa Park in the Premier League, winning nine and drawing seven of those. Only three teams in the history of the Football League have enjoyed a longer unbeaten away record against a single team, with Liverpool and Man United going 20 games against Sunderland and Villa respectively, and Chelsea remaining unbeaten on 17 consecutive visits to White Hart Lane.

Indeed, Villa have earned more points against Arsenal away from home (20) in the Premier League era than at home (18). Villa last league victory at home to Arsenal came exactly 17 years ago today, when Dion Dublin scored twice and Julian Joachim got the other in a 3-2 victory in 1998.

These two sides last met in the FA Cup final in May, but it was a one-sided contest at Wembley as the Gunners retained the trophy with a 4-0 victory. That was something of a theme through their three meetings last season, with Arsenal scoring 12 goals and conceding none against today's opponents in that trio of games. The last meeting here came last September, with Arsenal running out 3-0 victors.

Remi Garde is also coming up against his former club today having been Arsene Wenger's first signing in charge at the Gunners alongside Patrick Vieira. He went on to make 31 appearances during a three-year spell at Highbury, and comes up against his old manager here.

KICKOFF: Here we go then! Arsenal get us underway at Villa Park looking to move to the top of the Premier League table.

It's been a fairly bright start from the hosts here. It is all rather scrappy, but they are on the front foot and have been the early aggressors so far.

Predictably, Villa are looking for crosses into the box with Gestede in there. The first dangerous one arrives from Bacuna on the left, but Gestede's knockback is comfortably dealt with by the visitors.

SAVE! Positive play from Sinclair as he collects a crossfield pass before cutting inside and going for goal. It is never truly troubling Cech, but it is good intent from the Villa attacker.

Arsenal take an early lead here as Giroud scores his 50th league goal for Arsenal from the penalty spot. There is huge confusion initially as referee Kevin Friend didn't give a spot kick straight away after Walcott had been hauled to ground by Hutton. After what seems like an age he does make his decision, however, awarding the visitors the penalty - which ultimately is the correct decision. Giroud sends the keeper the wrong way from the spot and it is first blood to Arsenal.

That is a real blow for Villa has they had made the brighter start to this match. The delayed nature of Friend's decision has only served to rile the crowd up more, and there is a charged atmosphere inside Villa Park now. The hosts feel hard done by, but in the end the correct decision was made.

How can Villa respond? The first goal was always going to be key in this match, if for Villa's mentality more than anything, and they find themselves with a mountain to climb already.

Arsenal haven't really got going themselves yet, but they are starting to see a little more of the ball now and gain a bit of control over the game. Villa need to keep up their intensity here and prevent the visitors from settling.

Guzan is forced off his line here as the ball is played forward towards Campbell, but the American times his interception well to mop up the danger.

Sinclair has look the liveliest of the Villa players so far. He picks the ball up in midfield here and drives straight at the Arsenal defenders before eventually being dispossessed on the edge of the area. Villa win a free kick in a decent crossing position moments later, though...

Veretout hangs it up into a decent area, but none of the Villa players ever look like getting there and it goes behind for a goal kick.

OFF THE LINE! At the other end Arsenal have a free kick in a similar position, which Ozil floats in. Guzan comes off his line but is comfortably beaten to the ball by Giroud, whose header loops over the keeper and threatens to drop in. However, two Villa players are back there to prevent it from doing so and Gestede is the man to nod it behind for a corner.

This time it is Cech coming off his line that hands the opposition a half chance. The Arsenal keeper got a hand to the cross but could only paw it down to Bacuna, who couldn't react in time to steer his effort on target.

Aston Villa have actually had the majority of the possession in this match so far, but they don't really look like threatening Arsenal. The deficit may only be one, but it is already hard to see a way back for the hosts here.

Better from Villa as Ayew is slipped through down the left flank before cutting inside, but he has very few options available to him in the middle. That forces him to go for goal himself, and his shot is blocked before it can test Cech.

Arsenal are beginning to coast a little here. They seem in control of the game and carry a lingering threat, although they haven't been able to create much of real substance since taking the lead.

Villa just can't get out at the moment. Arsenal have taken complete control of the game over the last 10 minutes or so, enjoying 75% of the ball in that time. Still no second goal, though, and we saw how important that can be with Everton against Norwich on Saturday.

Almost a chance for Arsenal as Ozil floats another free kick into a good area, but it is just an inch or so too high for Koscielny and goes straight out for a goal kick.

SHOT! Hutton sends a rather aimless cross into the box that Bellerin clears, but Ramsey then gives it straight to Gueye in a dangerous area. It opens up for the Villa man to shoot, but his effort is always swerving away from goal and ends up a few yards wide.

Another chance for Ozil to lift the ball into the area here as Bellerin wins a free kick in a deep position...

This time the ball is dealt with by Gestede, however, and Kevin Friend awards a free kick to Villa that draws the biggest and longest cheer of the day.

The Arsenal fans take the opportunity to mock both Villa and one of their London rivals in one chant. "Down with Chelsea, you're going down with Chelsea", they sing.

Game over? Arsenal win the ball back deep in their own half through Ramsey and immediately launch a counter-attack that has Villa scrambling to get back. It looks like a four-on-four situation, but one pass from Walcott suddenly makes it three-on-one in Arsenal's favour. Ozil collects the pass and unselfishly squares it for Ramsey, who has the simplest of finishes to double his side's lead.

Yet another assist for Ozil, then, and it really is hard to see a way back for Villa now. They are not putting Arsenal under any pressure and the Gunners have taken a comfortable two-goal lead without getting out of second gear so far.

Villa go in search of a route back into this match and they are almost gifted it by some careless play from Arsenal, but Koscielny blocks Gueye's cross behind for a corner.

CHANCE! Half a chance for Villa from the resulting corner as Hutton finds a yard of space at the front post, but he gets too much on his header and sends it wide when a glancing effort could have asked serious questions of the Gunners.

There will be one minute of added time at the end of this first half.

Boos ring around Villa Park at the half-time whistle, and Arsenal end the first half with the ball in the back of the net for a third time, although this one is disallowed due to Walcott being offside. The Gunners are still in complete control at the interval, however, and it would take some turnaround for them to not end this match top of the Premier League table now.

It took Arsenal just eight minutes to break the deadlock, although there was plenty of confusion of it initially. Kevin Friend appeared to reject Walcott's claims for a penalty after he had been hauled down by Hutton, but after a few seconds he did point to the spot. In the end it was the correct decision, but the Villa fans were left feeling hard done by after the delay in making it. Giroud stepped up to the spot kick and made no mistake for his 50th league goal.

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A second goal arrived with seven minutes left of the first half, and it was a quick counter-attack that caught Villa out. Ramsey won the ball back deep inside his own half to spark the break, and Giroud, Walcott and Ozil were all involved as they cut Villa open. The defending from the hosts was really poor to allow Ozil to square the ball to Ramsey, who had a simple finish in the end.

Arsenal have come close to a goal on one other occasion too, when Giroud beat Hutton to the ball from an Ozil free kick. His looping header was on course to drop over the line, but two Villa players got back in decent time to deal with the danger. The visitors haven't exactly created chances at will so far, but they are in complete control and look like cruising to all three points here.

As for Villa, there has been very little to shout about for the home fans. Sinclair tested Cech with an effort just before the Arsenal opening, while Gueye and Hutton have both sent shots wide of the upright, but none of those have really threatened to give the hosts a route back into the match. The players don't look like they believe that they can win this match in truth, and the pedestrian nature of their defence for the second goal summed that up.

KICKOFF: Aston Villa get us back underway for this second half, and it looks like mission impossible for them to get back into this one in truth. We have already seen a few big shocks this season, though...

Veretout looks to get Villa off to a quick start to this second half as he is fed the ball from the right flank. There is only one thought in his mind and his shot is well off target, but it at least shows a bit of intent from the hosts.

CHANCE! This is much better from Villa. They come forward down the right again and Hutton hangs a good cross into the middle that Gestede looks very interested in. He steals a yard on Mertesacker and gets up in good time, but his contact is not good enough and the chance goes begging. That was a big opening for a man of his aerial ability.

SAVE! Another Villa effort here as the ball falls to Sanchez around 30 yards from goal. He takes it past two players to get a better shooting position, and his curling effort is a decent one, but Cech makes it look easy when plucking it out of the air.

Brilliant play from Giroud as he takes down a long ball forward majestically before pushing it past Okore and eventually winning a corner. He really is full of confidence at the moment.

This has certainly been a positive start to the second half from Villa. This time the ball is fizzed in to Sinclair, who can't take it in his stride, but the hosts do seem to have responded to whatever was said to them during half time.

Arsenal are lucky here as both Mertesacker and Cech are a little too casual to almost hand Gestede a chance, but the striker slips and Arsenal escape. Giroud then loses the ball in a dangerous area and, while nothing comes of it, the Gunners looked rattled there for sure.

CHANCE! Big chance for Villa to give themselves a lifeline! Again it comes down the right through Hutton, who had a torrid first half but it becoming an attacking force now. His cross finds Sinclair at the front post, but he can't get over the ball and nods it too high.

ASTON VILLA SUB: Interesting change for Villa here as Garde takes his main striker off, with Carles Gil replacing Gestede.

Suddenly Villa look like they actually want this, which is drawing a reaction from those in the stands. They take a free kick quickly and hit on the break, but again nothing comes of it. The desire is there now, but the quality at key moments is still lacking.

This time Hutton's cross is not good enough, but the clearance at the front post only drops to Veretout on the edge of the box. He has to take it quickly, however, and blazes his first-time volley a long way over the bar.

This game is getting nice and open now! Villa are looking to get on the front foot at every available opportunity, which is also leaving gaps for Arsenal to exploit. I would be surprised if we had seen the last of the goals if things carry on like this.

CLOSE! Almost a goal back for the hosts! The ball is worked out to Bacuna in plenty of space on the left side and, while his first touch isn't perfect, it is still good enough to set him up for a shot. He tries to bend one into the far top corner, but it ripples the top of the net on its way over. That was not far away at all.

ARSENAL SUBS: Wenger clearly doesn't like the way that this second half is shaping up, so he makes a double change here. Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and Kieran Gibbs replace Walcott and Campbell.

The ball almost breaks to Gibbs as the sub doesn't connect with a cross from Giroud but then gets a second bite at the cherry. He manages to get something on it, but not enough to cause Guzan any problems.

Were it not for this man's goal, Arsenal fans may be feeling a little more uneasy right now. Villa have been much better this second half and a goal back could makes things very interesting indeed.

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Hutton has epitomised Villa's improvement in this second half. He had a stinker in the first half, but has been a real threat down the right since the interval. He wins two corners in quick succession for Villa here.

Those two corners turn into four corners in quick succession, but the spell of pressure eventually comes to an end when Gueye blazes one well over the bar from long range.

Time is beginning to run out for the hosts now, despite their much improvement performance since the interval. Is it perhaps time for Jack Grealish? It is that spark of quality that Villa have been missing so far.

Guzan is called into action here as Ozil and Ramsey combine to find Gibbs, but his strike across the face of goal is plucked out of the air by the keeper, who immediately looks to launch a counter-attack.

There is concern for Sanchez here as he goes down following a fairly innocuous clash with Giroud. The striker's shoulder appeared to catch Sanchez in the face, which caused more problems than it might have normally due to the Villa man wearing a protective mask.

SHOT! Good work from Gil as he spins away from two Arsenal players before firing an effort a yard or so past the post.

ASTON VILLA SUB: It is time for Grealish now and, with Sanchez fine to continue, it is Gueye who is replaced by the youngster.

Lovely pass from Ramsey out wide to find Ozil, but this time the attack breaks down for Arsenal. The visitors haven't looked anywhere near as dangerous in this second half, it must be said.

CHANCE! Better from Arsenal as they win the ball back off Sinclair inside the Villa half and immediately look to take advantage. Ramsey and Ozil combine before the former tees up Oxlade-Chamberlain, whose deflected effort is tipped wide by Guzan.

Important defending from Okore as again Arsenal hit Villa on the break. Ramsey is at the start of it all once more, sliding a pass to Oxlade-Chamberlain, who carries it all the way into the Villa area before he is eventually dispossessed by the defender.

ARSENAL SUB: The visitors make a third and final change, and it is Ozil who makes way to be replaced by Calum Chambers.

ASTON VILLA SUB: The hosts respond with their last sub of the match too as Adama Traore comes on for Sinclair.

Villa's challenge has fizzled out the longer this half has worn on, but there are positives to take for Remi Garde from this second-half display. Things look bleak at half time - both for their hopes today and for the season - but they have at least shown signs of a fighting spirit since the break.

There will be four minutes of stoppage time at the end of this match.

CLOSE! Brilliant from Adama as he picks the ball up inside his own half before bursting past three Arsenal players and making it all the way into the box. His eventual effort hits the side-netting, but that was probably Villa's best moment of the entire match so far.

Half a chance for Ramsey as he gets the better of Lescott in a good position, but he is forced back on himself and eventually curls a effort over the top.

CHANCE! It's pretty open in these closing stages now. Oxlade-Chamberlain finds himself in all sorts of room down the right flank and he sends a cross into an unmarked Bellerin, but his stooping header is straight at the keeper.

Arsenal climb to the top of the Premier League table, then, and in the end it was all rather straightforward for the Gunners today. Goals from Giroud and Ramsey in the first half were enough for all three points, and while Villa responded in the second half, Arsenal rarely had to get out of second gear in truth. The gap remains eight points to safety for Villa ahead of a make-or-break festive period.

That is all we have time for this afternoon! Thank you very much for joining Sports Mole for today's match as the Gunners leapfrog Man City and Leicester to the top of the table until tomorrow night at least. I will leave you with our match report, and be sure to stick around for reaction, analysis and player ratings. From me, though, it is goodbye for now!