Arsenal -190 Favorite As Villa Sells Watkins To Al-Hilal

Written By:

Lorcan Palaca

Published On:

August 31, 2026 11:23 AM

Arsenal -190 Favorite As Villa Sells Watkins To Al-Hilal
  • Arsenal is a -190 favorite on the Premier League moneyline, Aston Villa a +500 underdog and the draw priced at +340.
  • Aston Villa sold its record Premier League scorer, Ollie Watkins, to Saudi club Al-Hilal for roughly £51 million.
  • Kai Havertz has scored in both Arsenal appearances this season and is favored to start over Viktor Gyokeres.
  • Nicolas Jackson arrived from Chelsea as Watkins’ replacement but has not yet played for Aston Villa in a competitive match.

BIRMINGHAM, England – Arsenal is a -190 favorite to win at Aston Villa, with the match’s goalscorer market thinned by Aston Villa’s sale of its record Premier League scorer, Ollie Watkins, to Saudi club Al-Hilal a day before Monday’s kickoff.

A Short-Priced Favorite At Villa Park

Arsenal arrives as a heavy road favorite, coming off a 3-0 win over newly promoted Coventry City in its opener.

MarketOdds
Arsenal win-190
Draw+340
Aston Villa win+500
Over 2.5 goals-140
Under 2.5 goals+115

Laying -190 on Arsenal outright means clearing a win rate near two-thirds just to break even, the toll for a road price that short. The total leans toward the over in part on Aston Villa’s defense: the hosts shipped four goals in a season-opening loss at Brighton, a leaky start now paired with a rebuilt front line.

Monday’s Villa Park meeting sits inside a full Premier League slate that anchors this week’s board for legal sports betting generally, with the same three-way structure – moneyline, draw and total – running across how to bet on the English Premier League every match week this season.

The Goalscorer Market Just Got Thinner

Aston Villa parted with Watkins, the club’s all-time leading Premier League scorer, in a deal worth roughly £51 million that closed the day before kickoff, and Al-Hilal confirmed the signing as he left for Saudi Arabia’s Pro League. Nicolas Jackson arrived from Chelsea in the same window as his replacement but has yet to play a competitive minute for Aston Villa, leaving any goalscorer price on him more projection than form.

Arsenal’s line is more settled: Kai Havertz has scored in both of his appearances this season and is favored to start at striker over Viktor Gyokeres, who has opened both games from the bench.

Confirmed lineups post roughly an hour before kickoff, and a goalscorer bet on a player who starts on the bench collects nothing regardless of price. That risk sits heavier on Aston Villa’s side of the match Monday, with a new-arrival striker who has not featured and a title-board contender in Arsenal – installed in July at Arsenal +165, Man City +300 on the Premier League board – fielding the more proven frontline option.

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Ben Fiore

Lorcan Palaca

Lorcan covers the legal sports betting industry with a focus on sports news, analysis, and betting-related storylines. As a student at Florida State University, he researches data to present accurate content for bettors and sports fans. Lorcan loves to identify emerging trends, player and team developments, and the changing betting markets. Outside of writing, he can often be found supporting Florida State athletics in person.