Arsenal musings

Starter for ten: Name your Villa skipper.

Martin Laursen is crocked. Let's hope it's not too serious, but whenever the words 'knee' and 'Laursen' fall into the same sentence you can hear a pin drop.

It's like a friend bringing up a former partner in front of your current spouse: "Do you remember Cathy? Such a good - looker." Not the done thing.

So Laursen is out, and by my reckoning that leaves four candidates to lead the side against Arsenal and Hull City.

Gareth Barry - the favourite. But would he fancy the responsibility after all that had gone on before? It was a messy old summer. Is all that forgotten?

Stiliyan Petrov- now a fans' favourite and a senior team member of some standing.

Brad Friedel- as old as the hills and playing as well as ever.

Nigel Reo-Coker - skippered the side at Liverpool last season, but unlikely to come into serious contention here because he is only in the side by default, although he will face the Gunners at right-back.

Friday night will reveal all.

Just when you thought it was a great time to face Arsenal, fate goes and slaps Villa in the face.

No Cesc Fabregas, no Emmanuel Adebayor. Sure they have replacements, but those are two key players to be without in anyone's book.

Then Laursen goes and spoils it on Sunday evening....

Still, this is what Carlos Cuellar was signed for at £7.8 million. Not to play right-back for the rest of his days.

He was poor at Hamburg but if you remember he did pretty well as a half-time sub at Chelsea. And his reputation is steeped after a fine time at Rangers.

There's still no John Carew and won't be for at least a month. That's a worry.

Surgery has never been ruled out completely.

But I am not one of those conspiracy theorists who think he will never play for the club again after the Ajax incident. The Rocket thingy.

Still, Emile Heskey will soon be here...

I pointed out to Martin O'Neill on Tuesday morning that if there were two players you wanted in your team against Arsenal- it was Laursen and Carew.

Laursen because of the last 18 months of consistently high performances, and Carew because he has held a talismanic influence over the Gunners from his time at Valencia.

He was "unplayable" at Villa Park against them last year.

Can Villa beat Arsenal and open up a six point gap? Of course they can. And a sell-out crowd will ineviteably help, particularly with the electric atmosphere that a late kick-off invariably brings.

It's ten years since Villa last beat them at home. High time for change.

You have to go back to Ron Atkinson and 1992/93 for the last double over Arsenal. Dean Saunders scored the only goal at Villa Park on 28 December 1992, and Tony Daley the only goal at Highbury the following April.

Much has been made of Arsenal's inconsistent form. Losing to Stoke, Hull, Fulham, Manchester City and Villa this season when last year they were top of the pile at Christmas having lost just once.

But they have also beaten Chelsea and Manchester United and managed a draw with Liverpool last week with just ten men.

Write them off at your peril. Just like United, they love Villa Park and its superb playing surface almost as much as their own home.

Villa can go six points clear with a victory. And yet a defeat will see Arsenal rise back above them. It's as intriguing a clash at Villa Park that I can remember.

Sure the Liverpool clash was one to savour. But that was all about Barry and Benitez. United is always a fixture to excite... but that is always about ending a hoodoo.

Friday night is about two teams almost now viewed on a level. With Ashley Young and Gabby Agbonlahor in such fine form Villa you feel can really shake Arsenal up, particularly if the visitors defend as high up the pitch as they did against Liverpool.

But Boxing Day has not been kind to Villa in recent years.

Last year's eight goal thriller at Chelsea and a win at Everton in December 2005 are as good as it has got since a 2-0 win at Derby in 1999.

In fact Villa have only won one other game in Premier League history on December 26: 4-1 against Spurs in 1997, whilst the likes of Man City, Blackburn and Coventry have got the better of them on the date as well as Chelsea, Tottenham, Liverpool and United.

The record books also show that Villa have only played Arsenal twice on Boxing Day: registering a goalless draw in 1994 at Highbury and winning 3-0 in 1957 when Gerry Hitchens was on the scoresheet - now there was a striker. What price the Welshman today?

But Boxing Day hasn't always been one to fear. Although you have to go back a bit.

Back in the 1890s there was a four year period where Villa hit 22 goals without reply in three matches. They beat Darwen 7-0 and 9-0 in 1891 and 1893 and Stoke City 6-0 in 1894.

Villa fans don't need any such thrills on Friday. 1-0 with a scruffy goal off the defender's backside in the 95th minute of a drab encounter will suffice.

Then there will no longer be any talk about whether Villa can live with the top four.

The agenda then from the press men will be if they can live with the top two.

Heady times indeed. Merry Christmas!