Defender Richard Dunne has warned Villa they risk being dragged into a relegation fight without a major improvement in results.

The Republic of Ireland international believes tomorrow’s visit from Arsenal represents a high stakes contest for a Villa side who have delivered brief moments of promise, but a poor return of points under manager Gerard Houllier.

For Dunne, the game kicks off a defining phase of the season for Villa.

He said: “Between now and the end of January it’s important to pick up points, because the league will start to spread itself out.

“We want to make sure we’re in that higher half of the league and we can push on to hopefully a top six or seven finish.

“Once you get on a run of defeats it’s really difficult to get out, so we’ve got a really good game for us against Arsenal.

“We need the same performance as we put in against Manchester United. It’s a game we need to win really, otherwise we could be level with the bottom three.

“We need to win games and start setting our stall out that we’re going to be a side who are going to have a successful season.”

The Christmas season brings a mixed crop of fixtures for Villa which are sure to be influenced by the outcome of next week’s Carling Cup quarter-final derby with Birmingham City.

But Dunne knows that the young players currently fortifying Villa’s season have very little time to grow up.

He said: “The next game’s the important one, regardless of who it is against. It’s about us. We have to stand up and show what we can do.

“It’s about us. We have to stand up and show what we can do. We did it at Blackburn in the last 15 minutes when there was no pressure and everyone could play freely.

“But we need to do it from the start  when it’s 0-0. It’s important then and that’s when we can control games.

“We need the fans behind us. We’ve got a lot of young players in the team and they need encouragement as much as anything.

“If we can get the fans behind us, I’m sure it will give everyone a boost.”

But Arsenal have their own worries as they prepare for a Villa Park fixture which usually provides some of the best football of the season.

Captain Cesc Fabregas won’t be playing because of a hamstring injury suffered in the surprise midweek defeat by Braga in the Champions League.

That followed Arsenal’s shock collapse in the North London derby and they returned from their Champions League misadventure to find one of their own clipping their ears.

Former ‘Invincible’ defender Martin Keown has launched into a scolding attack on the 2010 team.

He said: “There was laziness all over the pitch for Arsenal. Nicklas Bendtner has been talking himself up a lot in the papers, but his work-rate is not good enough.

“There were times against Braga when Theo Walcott put in decent crosses and Bendtner was not willing to try to get on the end of them – he wasn’t busting a gut like he should have been.

“It hurts having to listen to criticism but the mark of top players is how they react. You need ruthlessness.

“This Arsenal team need more leaders and it is no good saying, ‘I’m not one.’ You have to become one because it is an ingredient of being a top player.

“It is an opportunity for someone to show those credentials and lead the team on to success.”

It’s strong stuff from Keown which should also alert Villa to the potential for a backlash tomorrow, one which could start to get the jitters going and end Houllier’s gentle re-introduction to the high-pressure world of the Premier League.

Such are the demands that his adversary Arsene Wenger was surprised to see his fellow countryman leave the relative comfort of his previous employment.

Wenger said: “I know him quite well, we started together years ago. I wasn’t surprised that Villa took him but I was surprised that Gerard went to Villa, because he was in a position as technical director of the French Football Federation.

“I was surprised that he chose to leave his job and come again into a hot-seat after what he has gone through.”