Smith, who developed a reputation for playing exciting, attacking football at Brentford, is a Villa fan and will replace Steve Bruce, who was sacked last week following the second tier side's dismal start to the season.
Aston Villa have terminated the contract of manager Steve Bruce following a dismal start to the season, the English Championship club said on Wednesday.
Arsenal's Premier League title prospects were enhanced without them even kicking a ball on Wednesday as their closest challengers Manchester City and Aston Villa both dropped points.
Arsenal moved to the top of the Premier League with a comfortable 3-0 win over Fulham on Saturday, extending their lead in the title race.
Aston Villa skipper Stilian Petrov headed an equaliser three minutes from time to force a 2-2 draw at Championship side Crystal Palace in an outstanding FA Cup fifth round tie Sunday.
Manchester City halved Arsenal's lead at the top of the Premier League to three points with a 3-0 win over visitors Fulham, while Aston Villa stayed in the frame with a late 1-0 victory at home to Brighton & Hove Albion on Wednesday.
Goals from Steve Sidwell and Dimitar Berbatov helped Fulham end a six-match losing streak with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa on Sunday.
Arsenal seized control of the Premier League title race as Bukayo Saka's goal secured a priceless 1-0 win at Brighton and Hove Albion and Manchester City could only draw 2-2 at home to relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.
Manchester United defeated Aston Villa to strengthen their position in the Premier League top four, while Liverpool were held to a draw by Tottenham Hotspur.
Manchester City blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 at Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday as a moment of magic by home forward Dominic Solanke handed Arsenal a huge Premier League title boost.
Manchester City defeated Brentford 3-0, closing the gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal. Liverpool drew with Chelsea, while other key Premier League results impacted European qualification hopes.
Mikel Arteta insists the Premier League title race "starts again" after Arsenal's 2-1 loss to Manchester City, with five games left and everything still to play for.
Matheus Cunha struck just before half-time to earn Manchester United a 1-0 victory at luckless Chelsea on Saturday, taking them a big step closer to Champions League football next season.
The race for Premier League places in next season's Europa League warmed up on Sunday when Aston Villa and Everton fought out a thrilling 3-3 draw and Fulham came from behind to win 3-1 at Manchester City.
West Bromwich Albion inflicted further misery on Manchester United, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford on Saturday to condemn the champions to their worst start to a Premier League season and leave them in the bottom half of the table after six games.
Manchester City seized the opportunity of Arsenal's 2-1 loss at Aston Villa earlier in the day to climb within two points of the leaders.
Bournemouth's Antoine Semenyo scored inside the first minute as they ended a run of eight games without a victory thanks to a 1-0 Premier League home win over Fulham on Monday, a result that reignites their hopes of European football next season.
It took 10 Premier League games for the first cracks to appear in Manchester City's facade last season, but Pep Guardiola got a much earlier reminder of his side's fall from grace on Saturday in another defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal re-established their five-point lead at the top of the Premier League with a 2-0 home win against Brentford on Wednesday and for the second evening running the goals flowed as Aston Villa won 4-3 in a thriller at Brighton and Hove Albion.
Arsenal extends its lead in the Premier League, while Manchester United strengthens its top-four bid. Chelsea's Cole Palmer shines with a hat-trick, and West Ham earns a crucial win in their fight against relegation.
Second-placed City would have reduced Arsenal's advantage to two points but instead were frustrated as their winning streak in all competitions was halted at eight.
Manchester City and Chelsea both secured their Champions League places with victories on the final day of the English Premier League season and Newcastle United joined them despite stumbling to a last-day defeat.
Andy Carroll helped himself to a hat-trick as Newcastle United stunned Aston Villa 6-0 to mark a memorable home return to the Premier League on Sunday.
Premier League leaders Arsenal needed two own goals, the second deep in stoppage time, to scrape a 2-1 home win over bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers and open a five-point gap, while earlier on Saturday Mohamed Salah put aside a tumultuous week to help Liverpool beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Premier League champions Liverpool maintained their 100 per cent start to the season with a 3-1 win against Arsenal at Anfield on Monday leaving them level on nine points with pacesetters Everton and Leicester City.
IMAGES from the Premier League matches played on Wednesday.
Bournemouth won away at Arsenal for the first time in the Premier League on Saturday, and completed a memorable double to boost their chances of playing in Europe next season, thanks to a second-half fightback en route to a thrilling 2-1 win.
Arsenal maintained a searing pace at the top of the Premier League with a straightforward 2-0 win at Burnley, while Liverpool snapped a dreadful four-match losing run with a 2-0 victory over Aston Villa to climb provisionally to third.
Aston Villa claimed their first three points of the Premier League Season
Ivan Toney, once Brentford's lynchpin in attack, has moved to Al-Ahli for 40 million pounds ($52.50 million).
Chelsea battled from two goals down to beat West Ham 3-2 in the Premier League on Saturday with a stoppage-time Enzo Fernandez winner.
The post was deleted about an hour later. The league did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Images from Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester United manager Ruben Amorim would have enjoyed some relative calm during the international break after backing from club co-owner Jim Ratcliffe but will find himself in the Premier League maelstrom once again at Liverpool on Sunday.
The defeat halted Brighton's impressive three-game winning streak which included a 4-1 win over Chelsea and a 3-1 victory at Arsenal in the League Cup on Wednesday.
Leeds United's Premier League relegation fears heightened as they slipped to a 2-1 defeat at Aston Villa on Friday, leaving Jesse Marsch's side without a win in their last seven games in all competitions.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Fulham fixed their penalty jinx as Ivan Cavaleiro's spot kick eased them out of the relegation zone with a shock 2-1 win at high-flying Leicester City in the English Premier League on Monday.
Yossi Benayoun struck in injury time to give Liverpool a hugely important 1-0 victory at Fulham that took them top of the Premier League on Saturday. The win takes Liverpool to 67 points, two ahead of champions Manchester United, who have two games in hand and host Aston Villa on Sunday.
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