"I’m a bit worried" - Mark Lawrenson makes his prediction for Arsenal vs Aston Villa 

Pundit Mark Lawrenson has backed Arsenal to beat Aston Villa in their Premier League clash at the Emirates on Sunday, April 14.

The Gunners currently lead the league standings, sitting above Liverpool on goal difference (51-42). They played out a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich at home in their last game in the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg. In the Premier League, they beat Brighton & Hove Albion 3-0 away in their last game.

Aston Villa, meanwhile, drew 3-3 against Brentford at home in their last league game. They then beat LOSC Lille 2-1 in the first leg of their Europa Conference League quarter-final clash. The Villans are currently fifth in the table, behind Tottenham Hotspur on goal difference, having played one more game.

Ahead of their trip to the Emirates, Lawrenson has backed Mikel Arteta's side to come out trumps, writing in his column for Paddy Power:

"I fancy Arsenal with home advantage. They had that great game against Bayern Munich during the week but they keep churning out results. I’m a bit worried about Aston Villa’s high line away from home and Arsenal can take advantage."

Prediction: 2-0

Aston Villa beat the Gunners 1-0 in the reverse fixture in December, with John McGinn scoring the goal.

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Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta provides Jurrien Timber injury update

The Gunners signed Jurrien Timber from Ajax for a reported fee of €42 million last summer. He helped them win the FA Community Shield final against Manchester City, playing 76 minutes. However, he suffered an ACL injury during Arsenal's first Premier League game of the season against Nottingham Forest.

Timber has been out of action since but recently returned to training. He is now set to play some games with the U21 side or in-house before returning to first-team action. In a pre-match conference ahead of the Aston Villa clash, Mikel Arteta was asked about Timber's recovery, and he answered (via Arsenal.com):

"He’s still got a few steps to make. He needs to play a game, at least with the under-21s and he’s going to have an in-house game soon as well. He's done everything in training, now it’s getting that match fitness and having people around him to start competing in a full match which is different to training."

Timber, 22, came through Ajax's academy and made 121 senior appearances for them, and contributed six goals and four assists. The versatile defender has also earned 15 caps with the Netherlands national team.