Aston Villa captain Ron Vlaar has revealed that the squad is excited about the upcoming Premier League campaign.

The Villans strung together a series of positive results at the end of last season to help them steer clear of relegation.

Vlaar now hopes that the team can continue that form when they play their opening fixture away to Arsenal next month.

"We are excited," the Dutchman told Villa's official website. "We are looking forward. The fans got some great moments in the last few months and they want to see more of that. We want to give them more of that.

"We have optimism and positivity. We have to believe in ourselves. We did a lot more of that at the end of last season. We have to do that again in this season. We have to see what's possible."

Villa start the new campaign at the Emirates Stadium on August 17.