Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream: How to watch Premier League game online today, team news
It's Emery vs Arteta in the battle of the Basque bosses
Few would have predicted at the start of the season that Aston Villa vs Arsenal in mid-December would have such an important tinge to it. Thanks to their remarkable home form, the Villans have swept up the table to third (and won 14 home games in a row) while the Gunners have continued last term's excellence to sit top of the shop with a series of late winning goals. You can watch Aston Villa vs Arsenal live today from anywhere with a VPN and you'd do well not to miss it!
The teams are in and Aston Villa are unsurprisingly unchanged from the XI that beat Manchester City in midweek. That means Leon Bailey continues in the starting lineup in support of Ollie Watkins, with Youri Tielemans as a No10. John McGinn captains the side from the left wing as Ezri Konsa, Diego Carlos, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne make up the back four. Moussa Diaby is on the bench. For Arsenal, Mikel Arteta makes one change as Oleksandr Zinchenko replaces Jakub Kiwior on the left side of the defence. That means first-choice front three Gabriel Jesus, Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka continue, with Declan Rice, captain Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz in midfield. David Raya continues in goal. Leandro Trossard, Eddie Nketiah and Jorginho are on the bench.
The Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream takes place Saturday, Dec. 9.
► Time: 5:30 p.m. GMT / 12:30 p.m. ET / 9:30 a.m. PT / 4:30 a.m. AEDT (Dec. 10)
• U.K. — Watch on Sky Sports
• U.S. — Watch on Peacock
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk free
In beating Manchester City on Wednesday night, Aston Villa did more than just defeat the Premier League champions and title holders in five of the past six seasons. Unai Emery's side obliterated City, firing 22 shots to the champions' two and limited the visitors to merest scraps.
Villa equaled a club-record 14-game winning streak at home with that victory and will move to within one point of opponents Arsenal if they get the three points. Jamaican forward Leon Bailey has scored in his last two games and is starting to dovetail brilliantly with top-scoring machine Ollie Watkins.
Mikel Arteta knows to expect a tough game. Like Emery, the Gunners boss is a native of Gipuzkoa, Spain's smallest province which has produced some of the country's finest managers, and is desperate to extend his team's lead atop the Premier League.
The Gunners have scored last-minute winners in two of their last three games and in midfielder Declan Rice have a summer signing at the peak of his powers. Goalkeeper David Raya was again at fault for two goals at Kenilworth Road, will Aaron Ramsdale replace the Spaniard in goal for this one?
Aston Villa vs Arsenal is a top-of-the-table clash not to be missed today, so make sure you read on to find out how to watch this game and check out our full how to watch Premier League live streams hub.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream wherever you are
The Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream will be shown on many different channels across the world, but what if you're not in your home country and want to watch it on your usual service?
The answer is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN will let you tune into your home coverage from wherever you are — meaning that if you're abroad, you can use one of the best VPN services to watch the games live as if you were in your lounge.
Our favorite right now is ExpressVPN, thanks to its combination of superb speed, great customer service and excellent device support. It also offers a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you could check it out without having to sign up long-term.
Speed, security and simplicity combine to make ExpressVPN our favorite VPN service. In our testing, we were impressed by its fast connection times and by its ability to access more than 3,000 services in 160 locations across 94 countries. A 30-day money-back guarantee is another bonus.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, ExpressVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you're in the U.K. and want to view a U.S. service, you'd select U.S. from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to Peacock or another service and watch the game.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream in the U.S.
Soccer fans in the U.S. can watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream on Peacock, NBC's streaming service. To tune in, you'll need to be signed up for either a Premium subscription ($5.99/month) or Premium Plus ($11.99/month, which also gets rid of some ads).
If you're outside of the U.S. but have one of these subscriptions, you can watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream by using a VPN, such as ExpressVPN.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream in the U.K.
Sky Sports has the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream in the U.K., so if you already have a Sky subscription that doesn't include Sports, you'll need to pay £15/month to add those channels. The game will be shown on Sky Sports Main Event and Premier League stations.
Whichever package you go for, you'll also gain access to coverage in 4K and HDR, so long as you also have an HDR-ready Sky Q box and HLG-compatible TV.
Sky Glass is another option. This gives you Sky TV within a 4K TV that has a built-in Dolby Atmos soundbar, and without the need for a dish. Prices start at £14/month for the TV, plus a Sky sub on top of that.
If you don't want to shell out for a full Sky subscription, you could also consider Sports Membership from the Now streaming service. This gives you 24-hour access for £11.98 or month-long access for £34.99. And right now there's a special offer where if you commit to a year, you pay the equivalent of £26 a month.
All sounds great, right? But if you're not in the U.K., you can still follow the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream in Canada
Canadians can watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream on Fubo, the home of Premier League soccer in Canada.
The Essentials plan with gets you all Premier League matches, as well as games in Ligue 1, Serie A and the Coppa Italia plus 29 channels including BeINSports and MLB Network. It costs CAN$24.99 per month, but you can save up to 26% by purchasing an annual plan.
The Premium plan, priced at $39.99 per month, includes Premier League matches in 4K, as well as 20 entertainment channels.
Canadians stuck abroad that still want their low-price alternative can use a VPN such as ExpressVPN to make it look as if their streaming device is back in the great white north.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream in Australia
Aussies can watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream on Optus Sport, which has the rights to all 380 Premier League games this season. Optus can be accessed via a dedicated mobile or tablet app, and also on Chromecast and Apple TV and costs $24.99 AUD per month. An Annual Pass is also available for $199 AUD/year.
Not in Australia right now? You can simply use a VPN to watch all the action on your Optus account, as if you were back home.
How to watch the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream in New Zealand
Kiwis can access the Aston Villa vs Arsenal live stream via Sky Sport Now. This costs $24.99/week, $44.99/month or $449.99/year.
Not at home in New Zealand right now? You can still follow every game by using one of the best VPN services, such as ExpressVPN.
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Andy Murray is an award-winning sports writer and columnist. A fluent Spanish speaker and former semi-professional footballer, he was senior staff writer of world-leading football magazine FourFourTwo for seven years and continues to write and edit for them, national newspapers, websites and Premier League clubs. He is not a famous tennis player.