Aston Villa could be dealt a top-four blow by three of Unai Emery’s former Arsenal players against Fulham this weekend.
talkSPORT 2 will bring you live and exclusive coverage of the Premier League clash at Craven Cottage on Saturday afternoon.
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Villa travel to west London as one of the league’s high-flyers, as four wins from their first seven matches has them sitting fifth in the table.
Hosts Fulham are just three points behind in eighth and a club that Emery has always beaten throughout his career so far.
The Spaniard has won all five of his meetings against the Cottagers since he joined the Premier League with Arsenal in 2018.
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A 5-1 away win with the Gunners was followed by a 4-1 home victory before he left in November 2019.
Subsequent 1-0, 3-1 and 2-1 triumphs over Fulham have come his way with Villa since he joined in October 2022 to give him an imposing aggregate score of 15-4 against the London side.
Emery’s unbeaten run is a testament to his admired coaching quality but a trio of his ex-players could spell its end in Villa’s upcoming test.
Bernd Leno and Emile Smith Rowe were both handed their Arsenal debuts by the manager in a 4-2 Europa League win against Vorskla Poltava in the 2018/19 campaign.
Much of goalkeeper Leno’s first few weeks in north London were spent on the bench before he overtook the retiring Petr Cech as No.1.
The German featured 49 times across all competitions under Emery and left the Gunners for Fulham in 2022 for a reported £8million.
Leno has missed just two of their 83 Premier League fixtures since and kept the joint-third highest number of clean sheets last season with ten, alongside Ederson of Manchester City.
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Smith Rowe’s senior bow for Arsenal came after his rise through their famed youth system in Hale End.
He signed a new long-term deal at the club two months on from the appointment of Emery, who said the midfielder has ‘lots of potential’.
Arsenal’s academy graduate only played six matches in their first season together before joining RB Leipzig on loan for the first half of 2019.
Smith Rowe returned in the summer but a groin injury meant he made just three more appearances under Emery before his dismissal.
The 24-year-old completed a permanent exit from Arsenal in August when Fulham signed him in a deal that could reach £34m with add-ons.
He has so far scored two goals and assisted another one across his seven Premier League appearances for his new club, making six starts.
Alex Iwobi also featured under Emery at Arsenal but his senior debut came in a 3-0 Capital One Cup defeat against Sheffield Wednesday in October 2015.
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The Nigerian winger totalled 51 appearances for the Spanish boss, scoring six goals and assisting a further eight.
This included his stunning strike against Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League final which ultimately ended in a 4-1 defeat.
Iwobi left Arsenal for Everton soon after, before returning to London in September 2023 as Fulham completed a reported £22million deal.
He has a total of seven goals and three assists for the Cottagers and started in all of their Premier League fixtures this season.
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But wait, there’s more!
Reiss Nelson played six times during Emery’s Arsenal tenure and could also face his former boss on Saturday, given he is on loan from the Gunners for the season.
Jorge Cuenca is also a Fulham squad member after his summer move from Villarreal, where he played six matches when Emery was their head coach at the Spanish club.
The centre-back has made two appearances for the London outfit but is doubtful to face his old mentor due to an ankle injury.
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Villa will be extremely confident of claiming all three points on Saturday, although Fulham will surely put up a worthy fight at home.
Victory would extend Emery’s winning run over the west Londoners to six but three of his former Arsenal assets may spoil the party.
