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Premier League | Gameweek 37
Jul 21, 2020 at 8.15pm UK
Villa Park
AL

Aston Villa
1 - 0
Arsenal

Trezeguet (27')
Luiz (71'), Targett (87')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Torreira (35'), Lacazette (61'), Kolasinac (80'), Willock (90+1')

Dean Smith: 'Villa must beat Arsenal to avoid relegation'

:Headline: Dean Smith: 'Villa must beat Arsenal to avoid relegation': ID:407266: from db_amp
Villa are currently three points from safety with two games to go.

Aston Villa boss Dean Smith knows his side realistically have to beat Arsenal to keep their Premier League survival dream alive.

Villa are currently three points from safety with two games to go ahead of the Gunners' visit on Tuesday night where relegation could be sealed.

Watford, who sacked their manager Nigel Pearson on Sunday, are the team they will have sights on catching, but the Hornets play before Villa on Tuesday night and if they pick up a point against Manchester City and Villa do not beat Arsenal then a return to the Championship will be settled.

Smith knows his side are in last-chance saloon.

Aston Villa are under pressure in relegation battle (Clive Brunskill/NMC Pool/PA)

"We had a good win against Crystal Palace and followed it up with a good performance at Everton, where we should have won the game," Smith said in his pre-match press conference.

"They have to maintain the performance levels, work hard for each other and if you do that, you get the rewards.

"We need to win, we know that.

"You'll always have people that want to put you down at times, so the job is to prove people wrong.

“We need to win, we know that”
- Dean Smith

"We believe that we have enough in the dressing room, and we have to prove that."

The prospect of playing Arsenal has suddenly become more difficult than it was a few weeks ago as Mikel Arteta's influence is taking hold and they have beaten Liverpool and Manchester City in the last two games.

"Mikel said himself that they faced two of the best teams in Europe [last week]," Smith added.

"They have come out the other side of it with two wins and they have reached the FA Cup final.

"He is putting his own stamp on things, you can see the work ethic of the players.

"We have to concentrate fully on ourselves, it's a very important game, we have to get a result in this game and the players know that."

Villa have Kortney Hause back after a rib injury but Neil Taylor still misses out with a hamstring issue.

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1Arsenal28204470244664
2Liverpool28197265263964
3Manchester CityMan City28196363283563
4Aston Villa29175760421856
5Tottenham HotspurSpurs28165759421753
6Manchester UnitedMan Utd28152113939047
7West Ham UnitedWest Ham2912894650-444
8Brighton & Hove AlbionBrighton2811985044642
9Wolverhampton WanderersWolves28125114244-241
10Newcastle UnitedNewcastle281241259481140
11Chelsea27116104745239
12Fulham29115134344-138
13Bournemouth2898114152-1135
14Crystal Palace2878133348-1529
15Brentford2975174154-1326
16Everton2887132939-1025
17Luton TownLuton2957174260-1822
18Nottingham ForestNott'm Forest2967163551-1621
19Burnley2945202963-3417
20Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd2835202474-5014
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