Arsenal ‘hungry’ for Aston Villa revenge after Wolves win

Kai Havertz has spoken of his desire for Arsenal to gain revenge on Aston Villa after opening his account in the Gunners’ 2-0 home win over Wolves to start their 2024-25 Premier League season.

Germany forward Havertz headed the 25th-minute opener to put his side on course for three points which were sealed when Bukayo Saka fired in 16 minutes from time.

Arsenal’s seventh successive win over Wolves was a far happier occasion for the hosts than their 2-0 defeat to Villa at Emirates Stadium on April 14, which severely damaged their failed attempt to catch Manchester City at last season’s summit.

Villa, who finished fourth and will join Arsenal in this season’s Uefa Champions League, are their opponents in their first away game of the campaign on August 24 (5.30pm BST).

A big game awaits next week ✊ pic.twitter.com/Wa4g4i7vz1

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 17, 2024

Aston Villa vs Arsenal

“We’re going to be hungry to win this game, especially after last season,” said Havertz. “We’re going to do everything to win it.

“We were, in general, happy with pre-season, and we especially played well in the last two games [home wins over Bayer Leverkusen and Lyon]. That prepares you quite well for the Premier League.”

Villa also kicked off the season with a win in London, beating West Ham 2-1 at the London Stadium through goals from Amadou Onana and Jhon Duran.

They initially defeated Arsenal 1-0 last December to end a run of four defeats in the fixture and will now attempt to stop Havertz from adding to a sequence of 10 goals and seven assists in 15 league games.

Back home in N5 with a win ❤️

Check out the highlights of today’s 2-0 victory over Wolves 👇 pic.twitter.com/MoiWNQVPF9

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) August 17, 2024

Arsenal vs Wolves: Saka goal

Havertz set up the goal from Saka, who finished with three more than him as Arsenal’s top scorer on 16 in 2023-24. “When he gets those balls in those positions, then you know he’s a big threat,” Havertz said of the England international.

“He can put the ball wherever you want it. The timing of the ball and the run was perfect, so it was a good goal.”

The 25-year-old said Wolves pushed Arsenal, Jorgen Strand Larsen going closest when David Raya saved the Norway attacker’s first-half header.

“That’s how we all felt after the final whistle,” Havertz reflected. “There was a lot of work, especially in the second half.

“We defended quite deep at times – so in total, we’re happy not to concede a goal and to score two goals. It’s a good result for us.”