Arsenal's Eberechi Eze could emulate Harry Kane and Spurs cult hero in Aston Villa Premier League clash

Arsenal playmaker Eberechi Eze could be the Gunners' secret weapon in their Premier League showdown with Aston Villa on Tuesday night, the statistics suggest.

Only a few weeks on from their gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat to the Lions at Villa Park, the table-toppers reunite with their title rivals - and former head coach Unai Emery - in Tuesday's gargantuan showdown at the Emirates Stadium.

Arsenal will go six points clear of Villa with victory on their own turf in their final game of 2025, but defeat will bring the Lions level with the Gunners, and also allow Manchester City to leapfrog them into first place in the Premier League table.

Captain Martin Odegaard is anticipated to start once again after his team-of-the-week-worthy display against Brighton & Hove Albion, scoring the opener and creating five chances in that 2-1 home victory.

However, there could still be scope for Eze to start on the left wing for the Premier League leaders, battling Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Martinelli to force his way into Arteta's XI.

Why Eberechi Eze could be Arsenal's secret weapon vs. Aston Villa

The former Crystal Palace attacker has struggled to consistently deliver since joining Arsenal in the summer, but when the New Year comes into view, Eze tends to thrive.

Indeed, the England international has impressively found the back of the net in the final Premier League game of the year in each of the last three seasons, doing so for Crystal Palace in 2022, 2023 and 2024.

Eze struck against Bournemouth in his last appearance of 2022, Brentford in his final game of 2023 and Southampton in his closing match of 2024, leaving him one goal away from joining an exclusive club of players.

Should the Arsenal man find the net on Tuesday, he would be just the third man to score in the last Premier League game of a calendar year four years in a row, after Dimitar Berbatov (2007 to 2011) and Harry Kane (2016 to 2019).

Eze has also developed an affinity for contributions against Villa down the years, as he has registered five direct involvements in four Premier League home starts against the Lions, two of his own and three assists.

The 27-year-old is also one goal or assist away from reaching 10 contributions for Arsenal this season, having bagged five strikes of his own while setting up four more in 22 appearances, netting all of those goals in the Premier League.

How could Arsenal line up in defence against Aston Villa?

Eze is part of a near full-strength attacking contingent for Arsenal, but Arteta's defensive crisis is showing no signs of easing up following the fresh blows to Jurrien Timber and Riccardo Calafiori before Brighton.

It remains to be seen if either man can shake off their issues in time for the midweek match, but Declan Rice performed admirably against Brighton at right-back and is undoubtedly an option in that role moving forward.

Gabriel Magalhaes's recovery from a hamstring injury also allows Arteta to revert to his preferred defensive pairing, as well as giving him two left-back alternatives in Myles Lewis-Skelly and Piero Hincapie.

Cristhian Mosquera (ankle) and Ben White (hamstring) are definitely out of the clash with Emery's side, who are missing Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash through suspension.