08 December 2023 , 17:53
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Arsenal centre-half William Saliba says Aston Villa's title charge is no surprise to him - and he is bracing himself for one of their toughest games of the season.
Unai Emery has overseen a magnificent run of form of 14 straight home wins which has turned Villa Park into a fortress and Arsenal face a daunting task on Saturday. Villa beat Manchester City 1-0 on Wednesday which marked them down as Premier League title contenders because of their run of home wins which dates back to February when Arsenal won 4-2 on their last visit.
In the aftermath of Wednesday's triumph over City, courtesy of a Leon Bailey winner, Villa defender Diego Carlos vowed, 'We fear no one'. While Saliba is also confident in his team's ability to break the home side's run, the Arsenal star is happy to heap praise on Villa.
"They're not a surprise to me," Saliba declared. "They're a good team, they have a good coach as well and I'm not surprised they are in such a good position because they finished so well last season. I'm not surprised by them at all. They are so good.
"I think it will be one of our hardest games, it will be tough, we know it won’t be easy to play there. But we're in a good position as a team because we're first in the Champions League, first in the Premier League as well but we know we have a lot of games to come."
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Diego Carlos says Aston Villa fear no one (Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
Arsenal star William Saliba is out to change his mind (Julian Finney/Getty Images)Villa will take Saliba's compliments, having received plenty of kind words following ther win against reigning champions City. "That performance was very, very good," Brazilian defender Carlos added. "There's confidence in us and, as players, we aren't scared. The gaffer wants every player to have confidence with the ball and their position.
"We are a good team. From the first day he arrived, Unai improved both the team and us players. Now, we're in a good position in the table, but our season is not finished. There are still a lot of games to play. It's important to stay grounded and humble. For me, this is most important. We respect every team we play against - but we aren’t scared of them."