Fan Token Faceoff: Will Arsenal ($AFC) or Aston Villa ($AVL) End Year on a High?

Tonight’s match between Arsenal and Aston Villa represents a collision of the Premier League’s in-form teams, as well as this season’s best-performing Fan Tokens.

The Gunners go into the match as league leaders, although their advantage is a slim one: they sit two points above Manchester City ($CITY) and three above their visitors, who are on an incredible 11-match winning streak.

In other words, if Villa can make it a round dozen at the Etihad, they will fire themselves to joint-top of the table at the halfway stage of the 25/26 campaign. 

Arsenal Fan Token ($AFC) vs Aston Villa Fan Token ($AVL): A Season Summary

Naturally, the Fan Token market has responded to both clubs’ impressive showings since the start of the league campaign in August.

The Arsenal Fan Token ($AFC) has seen several notable spikes around important wins, particularly in August, October, and November. Interestingly, the positivity was evident from pre-season, when the club secured the services of prolific striker Viktor Gyökeres from Sporting Lisbon in a £64m deal. Arsenal’s lack of a talismanic goalscorer had been considered their Achilles heel during the previous campaign.

Between July 6 and July 29, the value of $AFC rose by an astonishing 40.6%. After action cooled in early August, the token rallied with a spike of 13.1% between August 7 and August 14, prior to their away win over Manchester United in the opening game on August 17.

Another notable period for the Arsenal Fan Token was late November, which saw impressive wins over Tottenham Hotspur (4-1) and Bayern Munich (3-1): $AFC jumped from $0.34 to $0.43 (26.4%) during this spell.

In December the token has mostly trended downward: Arsenal’s 2-1 defeat to Aston Villa on December 6 was followed by a 7.5% drop in value and since the start of the month, $AFC has fallen by 15.3%. Nevertheless, the Gunners have won four of their last five Premier League games, with the lone defeat coming to tonight’s opponents.

As for the Aston Villa Fan Token ($AVL), it started a gradual climb in late November as the early difficulties of the season (winless in their first five) were forgotten. Between November 20 and December 7, the value of $AVL increased from $0.09 to $0.19, a rise of 111%.

Last week, we reported that $AVL had gained 41.6% between December 21 and December 23, a response perhaps to Villa’s 2-1 win over Manchester United. Since then, Unai Emery’s men have travelled to the capital to defeat fourth-placed Chelsea by the same scoreline (December 27), a result that was followed by a 28.5% jump in the value of the Aston Villa Fan Token.

As Big As It Gets

Could the Villains make it a London double tonight? And if so, how might Fan Token traders respond? Particularly in view of the fact that Villa’s next match is a home tie against 17th placed Nottingham Forest on January 3.

A cursory glance at the January fixtures shows Arsenal have the tougher run, with showdowns against three top six teams: reigning champions Liverpool, Chelsea, and Manchester United. Aston Villa, by contrast, don’t face a top eight team until February.

With all that said, Arsenal have the home advantage tonight and may benefit from the return of defender Gabriel Magalhães and the availability of Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus. 

Arsenal’s superior goal difference also means that even a defeat would see them end 2025 at the summit of the Premier League, something which may provide a psychological boost to both the team and traders backing the Arsenal Fan Token.

Ronnie McCluskey: Fan Tokens Market Reporter