61 mins the 'oooohhs' ring out as Szczesny drops a Lichaj centre but despite his spill there's no-one remotely close to pounce and not enough pace on the ball to take it over the line as the Arsenal keeper easily gathers second time round.
58 mins Villa give themselves some breathing space by winning a succession of corners and Bannan flits from one side to the other to deliver the dead balls. Benteke rises highest from one but his effort is deflected by Koscielny as Bannan wears the same blade of grass again.
56 mins Oxlade-Chamberlain bursts into life, one step over, two step overs confuse the life out of Clark as he surges down the wing. Ramsey can't get enough on his centre at the near post and Villa breathe a sigh of relief.
55 mins Benteke controls and tries to set up an attack through Lowton down the right. He's pulled up for handball. Villa had men forward there.
51 mins Villa draft in the reinforcements, bringing Lichaj on for Vlaar.
50 mins Kolscielny does his best Usain Bolt impression to sprint over the half-way line and set up another counterattack but his run is checked. Ball goes out wide to the Ox who is sure to motor himself. Not so, the ball goes out with the Ox left slightly red-faced.
49 mins Podolski sprints into the corner, brings the back in and tries to centre but ends up curling towards goal and Guzan easily gathers. Great start to the second half for Arsenal but the stats don't lie, Villa tend to fade after their half-time cuppa.
47 mins Quick counterattack from Arsenal and Cazorla finds space in front of goal on the edge of area to shoot, but he curls his effort round the post.
Second half about to get underway...once Giroud finally makes it onto the pitch...come on, come on.
45 mins + 1 Oxlade-Chamberlain shapes to centre but it's blocked, the throw in is taken but that's it for the first half which has been a bit of a slow burner. Villa have edged it, but as usual can't turn that threat into hard goals, or ones that aren't ruled out for offside at least.
43 mins Arsenal have dominated the possession stakes but their goal threat has been pretty non-existent. But wait, Koscielny is handed a glorious chance to put the visitors in front. Clark trips as the Arsenal defender goes to shoot, but he blazes over from six yards. He's a defender, yes, but he's got to find the net from there. Shameful.
38 mins A well-worked free-kick from Villa's Bannan, one off the training ground no-doubt as Weimann thinks he's given the home side the lead but his close-range effort is ruled out for offside.
37 mins Szczesny gathers the ball on edge of his area but momentum coupled with slippery conditions take him outside the box while still with his hands wrapped round the ball. Cue uproar from Villa fans who want keeper punished, but it's just a free-kick on the left given.
34 mins Gibbs takes advantage as Lowton's feet get tangled and Arsenal set up a counterattack. Ramsey and Arteta try to work an opening but Villa's defence manage to shut out the danger again.
32 mins The Ox is called upon for some defensive duties as Stevens makes a run down the right but the England man prevents the danger.
29 mins Luckily Guzan had been woken into action as he's forced into his first real save of the match, keeping Ramsey's close-range effort at bay with his right boot after good work from the Ox down the right. Oxlade-Chamberlain had been a passenger until that moment.
27 mins Guzan gets his gloves dirty for the first time this evening to gather as the ball runs away from Podolski with the German bearing down on goal.
24 mins Villa stringing number of passes from left-to-right but final ball is lacking and Benteke is slightly isolated in attack. He's kept hold of his place despite return of fit-again Darren Bent who isn't even on the bench.
21 mins First booking of the match goes to El Ahmadi for diving. Have just seen a replay and ref Mason is spot on.
19 mins Right on cue and Villa Park erupts into their now accustomary applause for club captain Stiliyan Petrov who is continuing his recovery from leukaemia.
18 mins More good movement from Villa puts Arsenal on the backfoot and Gibbs is forced to clear for a corner.
15 mins Sustained pressure from Villa as Lowton, Weirmann and Clark combine before El Ahmadi tries to thread one through the middle but they can't get a look in. Podolski is harried by El Ahmadi into an error and the ball falls to Bannan who tries one from 30 yards but his effort hasn't the legs to test Szczesny.
13 mins Szezesny is forced into making the first save of the match at his near post to deny Westwood the opening goal. The Arsenal keeper would've been embarrassed to have conceded from there. Mind you, it has been a day for keeper errors.
12 mins Nice interplay from Gibbs and Podolski but Clark intercepts to deny Arsenal a chase of tip-tapping their way through the middle.
9 mins Conditions are already making it tricky for either side to keep possession, even Arsenal. Villa get a lucky break and win a free-kick on the right 25 yards from goal but no-one can get on the end of Bannan's cross.
5 mins Agbonlahor chases down Koscielny, but he's penalised for going in too hard. That's about the only time Villa have managed to creep into Arsenal's half. But wait, what's this. Agbonlahor goes on a surging run down the middle but he's stopped in his tracks.
4 mins This time Giroud is given time and space down the left but his centre is headed out for a first corner. No need to panic for Villa fans as it floats all the way out for a throw in.
3 mins Gibbs finds space down the left after getting behind Lowton but flag goes up for offside as he shapes to centre.
1 min Villa playing keep ball at back as Arsenal try to apply some early pressure. Ball already skidding around on slippery surface.
17.30 Grim conditions at Villa as Lee Mason kicks us off.
17.25 Villa head into the match third from bottom but ESPN reveal that if games finished at half-time, Villa would be fifth in the table. Likelihood of Premier League cutting matches back to 45 minutes, zilch. They won't even introduce a winter break.
17.15 Team news is in from Villa Park and there's no place for Darren Bent - not even on the bench for Villa. Jack Wilshere, meanwhile, starts on bench for Arsenal.
Aston Villa: Guzan, Lowton, Vlaar, Clark, Stevens, El Ahmadi, Westwood, Weimann, Bannan, Agbonlahor, Benteke. Subs: Given, Ireland, Albrighton, Holman, Delph, Bowery, Lichaj.
Arsenal: Szczesny, Jenkinson, Mertesacker, Koscielny, Gibbs, Arteta, Ramsey, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Cazorla, Podolski, Giroud. Subs: Mannone, Sagna, Vermaelen, Wilshere, Coquelin, Arshavin, Gervinho.
17.10 Welcome to coverage of today's late game where after back-to-back away defeats in the league, Arsene Wenger is thankful to the fixture list for handing them what looks like a plum trip to Villa Park.
Aston Villa haven't beaten Arsenal on home turf since 1998 when then-manager John Gregory saw his side come from two-down with Dion Dublin striking twice against Wenger's side to take Villa to the top of the table, the same day Irish pop-band 'Bewitched' shot to the top of the UK charts with 'To You I belong', aah.
Those days Villa had an abundance of strike power in their ranks. Aside from Dublin, Julian Joachim and Stan Collymore were firing goals in from all over the park.
Villa's starting-line in fact that day was: Michael Oakes, Steve Watson, Alan Wright, Gareth Southgate, Ugo Ehiogu, Gareth Barry, Ian Taylor, Lee Hendrie, Alan Thompson, Julian Joachim, Dion Dublin.
These days Villa are more familiar with the lower echelons of the league, falling into the relegation zone last weekend with a heavy 5-0 defeat to Manchester City.
Today they won't even have manager Paul Lambert in their corner, Lambert serving a match-one suspension for his conduct against City last week.
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