THREE teams, seven games to go, and just a single point in it.

Naturally, when a title race is this multifaceted, and this close, we turn to the remaining fixtures and try to determine where the potential stumbling blocks lie. Who might come unstuck where.

Indeed, thrillingly – from a neutral’s perspective – across pretty much every weekend from now until mid-May, either Arsenal, Liverpool or Manchester City have such a challenge, while the other two have relative byes.

This weekend it’s the Gunners turn to be the possible fall guys, with their title rivals expected to routinely dispense with Luton and Crystal Palace, both at home.

For their part, Mikel Arteta’s side are also on hosting duties, and that’s always a huge plus at this tense stage of the season. But for them it’s Aston Villa who are threatening to derail title aspirations, a side who reside a lofty fifth, in part due to decent away form.

Chelsea have been bested, Tottenham have been overcome, in fact the capital has been a happy hunting ground for the Villans in recent times, unbeaten in their last nine visits there.

Moreover, this is a collective who have experienced middling results of late but when viewing the big picture can be considered one of the stories of the season. Still harbouring genuine hopes of landing a top four spot, theirs is a campaign mostly amounting to excellence that is built on a clear mandate, a 4-2-3-1 that is flexible enough to greatly trouble the big guns while putting threes and fours past inferior fare. Crucially, it’s a mandate that has every player intrinsically knowing their role and doing it well.

This is a team too fronted by Ollie Watkins, a striker whose 18 goals and ten assists this term makes him a league leader for goal involvements. The England international has fired four in eight previously against the Gunners.

It has Leon Bailey as well, who is averaging 1.6 successful dribbles per 90 and 4.7 progressive carries. The winger has seen his game revived under Unai Emery and was devastating when Villa beat Arsenal in the corresponding fixture back in December until injury curtailed his evening.

And speaking of Emery there is the returning coach superstition to acknowledge. This alone will have Arsenal fans feeling edgy.

Furthermore, few managers can turn an opponents’ weaknesses against them better than the wily Spaniard.

Expect bookings aplenty this Sunday with David Coote in charge. The referee’s 5.38 average per game far exceeds any of his peers. Over 4.5 total cards then is a must at 4/5

The big problem for the visitors however is that Arsenal have no discernible flaws. What can they possibly hope to find that eleven others in the league – including Manchester City – have failed to unearth in 2024?

Ten wins and a draw since the new year is made up of 3.4 goals per game and a xGA of 0.4 and that smacks of a side awfully close to being complete.

At the back a miserly, well-drilled rearguard have kept six clean sheets in eight, conceding at a rate of a goal every 247 minutes since the turn of the year.

Ahead of them only Rodri has committed more passes into the final third than Declan Rice, the £100m man also offering assurance and protection. It’s pertinent here to point out that Villa’s own high-performing midfielder Douglas Luiz is suspended for Sunday.

Then there’s Bukayo Saka who boasts nine goals in 11, and Kai Havertz who has led the Gunners press superbly in recent weeks.

Not known for his prolificacy it surprises to learn that only Watkins and Phil Foden have more goal involvements in 2024 than the German.

Back Saka to have over 1.5 shots on target at 15/8

Looking beyond the key individuals what we’re witnessing from one half of North London right now is a team that has learnt well from painful lessons, a team firing on every cylinder. They should be backed to prevail this Sunday, and perhaps ultimately comfortably so.

And they should be fancied too to win the corner count, averaging five per 90 all season and six per 90 across their most recent five home fixtures, while on the discipline front expect Arteta’s men to additionally win out.

In their last six meetings, Villa have picked up 20 cautions compared to just 12 for Arsenal.

Full time Arsenal, most corners Arsenal, most cards Villa at 9/5 tempts as a match multi

Lastly, what should not be overlooked is the distinct possibility of an early strike at the Emirates this weekend, for either side.

No team has scored more first half goals than Arsenal (34) or Villa (32) in 2023/24, while remarkably in their last 12 encounters there has been a goal scored inside the opening half an hour.

Should it be the Gunners who converts it this time out then conceivably it’s game over. They have gone on to win all 12 league games that has seen them ahead at the break.

And lastly lastly, though it doesn’t directly translate to a betting concern, watch out for Arsenal’s goals to come in a burst. On six occasions in their last seven outings, the Villans have conceded twice or more inside a handful of mere minutes.

Back over 1.5 goals in the first half at 21/20