Live Commentary: Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal - as it happened

Heading into tonight's encounter, Aston Villa had not recorded a home victory over Arsenal since 1998.

While Paul Lambert's struggling team were unable to end that sequence, they did manage to claim a point against their visitors from North London.

Below is our minute-by-minute updates of how the encounter unfolded at Villa Park.

7.23pmThat's all we have time from Villa Park. Thanks for joining us tonight and be sure to give our match analysis a look - it will be with you shortly.

7.22pmWell let's just draw a line under this one and move on shall we?! It wasn't the best of games if truth be told. Lambert is bound to be the happier of the two managers and on reflection it is a good point for his Villa side.

7.20pmFULL TIME: Villa 0-0 Arsenal

90+2 minIt's all Arsenal at the moment. Can Villa hold on?

90 minWe will have three minutes of stoppage time...

89 minSUBSTITUTION: It's Villa's turn to make a switch as Weimman is replaced by winger Marc Albrighton.

87 minSUBSTITUTION: Final sub of the day for Arsenal as Giroud is taken off and Coquelin comes on.

85 minVery little happening at the moment. Arsenal are in control in terms of possession but they are not really creating any chances.

78 minOFF THE BAR! What a stop from Szczesny, who somehow got fingertips to Holman's stinging shot to lift the ball onto the crossbar. Agonisingly close for Villa.

77 minSUBSTITUTION: Another swap for Arsenal and again it's not Wilshere. Andrey Arshavin comes on in place of Oxlade-Chamberlain.

75 minCHANCE! There didn't look to be much danger as Ramsey picked up possession 25 yards from goal. However, the Arsenal midfielder, who was stretching at the time, skidded an effort inches wide of the post. So close.

69 minSUBSTITUTION: Change for Arsenal but it's not Wilshere coming on. Instead Gervinho enters the action in place of Lukas Podolski.

67 minSAVE! Agbonlahor got himself free to the left of the area but ended up drilling his low shot straight at Szczesny, who collected at the second attempt. Anywhere but near and Agbonlahor would probably have been celebrating.

63 minSUBSTITUTION: Another switch for Villa as Brett Holman takes the place of El Ahmadi.

59 minA succession of corners for Villa come to nothing. Still, at least they are putting pressure on Arsenal.

55 minArsenal could really do with getting Wilshere on the pitch. Cazorla has been quiet today and the Gunners are lacking that creative spark from the midfield. Surely it won't be long until he's introduced.

51 minSUBSTITUTION: Villa skipper Vlaar obviously has an injury and as a result he is replaced by Eric Lichaj.

47 minCHANCE! Positive start to the half from Arsenal, who have now got Santi Cazorla involved. The little Spaniard weaves his way to the edge of the area before firing just over.

6.32pmVilla get the second half off and running...

6.18pmWell the less said about that half the better I think! I suppose Villa should be credited for the how hard they've work, but both sides have been lacking in quality. Let's hope for better in the second half. Stick with us!

6.16pmHALF-TIME: Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal

45 minWe're going to have one minute of stoppage time...

44 minCHANCE! Best opportunity of the match falls to Laurent Koscielny, who for some reason was six yards from goal! The Arsenal centre-back got his feet muddled up though and sent his effort over the bar.

42 minVilla are now beginning to get into this encounter in an attacking sense. They're beginning to press Arsenal back at times.

37 minDISALLOWED GOAL! Weimann thinks that he has stuck Villa in the lead but his celebrations are halted by an offside flag. Replays show that is was the right decision, despite the jeers from the home fans.

33 minArsenal look to be growing more and more frustrated by Villa's tenacity and defending. Every time an Arsenal player gains possession, an opponent is there snapping at their feet.

29 minSAVE! First major opportunity for Arsenal. Ramsey shows some good footwork in the box to create the room for a shot, which Brad Guzan saves with his feet.

26 minThis match is in desperate need of a goal to liven it up. Fair play to Villa, they're working extremely hard to stop Arsenal from playing. It's not making for a good spectacle though!

20 minCHANCE! Now it's Arsenal's turn to go forward, but unfortunately for them Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain drags his shot from a narrow angle into the side netting. Sums up the game so far.

17 minCHANCE! Another attempt at goal from Villa. This time it's Benteke, who sends a free header wide of the target from 10 yards out.

13 minSAVE! First piece of work for Arsenal goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to do as he palms clear a cross from Andreas Weimann that ended up being a shot.

11 minIt's all gone very scrappy at Villa Park. Both teams are knocking the ball around nicely to a point, but then a wayward pass sees the move break down.

7 minCredit to Villa, who have come into the encounter. Gabriel Agbonlahor in particular is causing problems for Arsenal with his pace.

3 minIt's been all Arsenal so far, although they are yet to have a shot. They've come close though as a dangerous cross from Olivier Giroud is just cleared by Ron Vlaar facing his own goal.

5.30pmArsenal get us off and running...

5.27pmHere come the players to a big reception from the Villa Park faithful. They're in fine voice at the moment.

5.24pmI've finally found a positive (sort of) for Villa fans! If matches ended at half-time, you'd be fifth in the table!

5.19pmRight, just over 10 minutes to go until we get underway...

5.13pmIt's not escaped me that everything that's been posted prior to this has been negative towards Villa! But before there is any bias accusations, there isn't a lot to be positive about at the moment! Lambert's side have won just once in their last eight games.

5.07pmToday's results mean that a win for Arsenal at Villa will see them leapfrog Everton into fifth. Meanwhile, a Villa victory would mean that they exit the relegation zone and go into 17th spot. For a look at the Premier League table, click here.

5.03pmThere was also a 1-0 victory for Stoke City over Fulham. You can catch up with all the results from the Premier League, Championship and around Europe with our match reports here.

5.01pmElsewhere, Jordi Gomez netted three times for Wigan Athletic, who defeated Reading by the odd goal in five at the DW Stadium.

4.58pmA late headed goal from Sebastien Bassong rescued a 1-1 draw for Norwich City from their trip to Everton, while Manchester United came back from a one-goal deficit to win 3-1 against Queens Park Rangers.

4.55pmLet's just turn our attention briefly to the other matches in the Premier League as the majority of 3pm kickoffs come to an end...

4.53pmWilshere not starting is a strange one. I'm assuming that after spending so long on the sidelines with a serious injury, Wenger is keen to manager his midfielder's recovery. He doesn't want him doing too much. That's understandable, but Ramsey tends to slow Arsenal at times.

4.49pmWell, where Villa will start as expected, there are a couple of surprise alterations from Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger. There is no Jack Wilshere, with Aaron Ramsey selected ahead of the England man in the midfield. Thomas Vermaelen has also been left out as Kieran Gibbs is recalled at left-back.

4.46pmArsenal X1: Szczesny; Jenkinson, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Gibbs; Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla; Oxlade-Chamberlain, Podolski, Giroud

4.45pmThere's no real surprises in that Villa lineup. Paul Lambert has kept his faith in Christian Benteke rather than recalling England frontman Darren Bent. He will be partnered by Gabriel Agbonlahor.

4.43pmAston Villa X1: Guzan; Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Stevens; El Ahmadi, Westwood, Bannan, Weimann; Agbonlahor, Benteke

4.43pmRight, the teams news is in...

4.41pmAs mentioned in the introduction, Villa Park has been an enjoyable place for Arsenal to visit in recent years. They are unbeaten since 1998, winning on seven occasions since then. When you consider some of the players/teams Villa have had in recent seasons, that's an impressive statistic.

4.37pmThere's no team news to come out of Villa Park just yet. As soon as we have it, we'll bring it to you.

4.35pmAfternoon all. It's a big game this one. Both teams need the three points for very different reasons. One thing is for certain, with the way that they have defended at times this season, there should be goals!

Live Commentary: Aston Villa 0-0 Arsenal - as it happened

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Teams mentioned in this article :

Aston Villa

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