It had reached the point when even a diplomatic Unai Emery could not disguise Aston Villa’s position.
A theme of his meetings with the media has been the refusal to admit his team had the remote possibility of Champions League qualification. Any mere mention would be met by the same brickwall response. “We are not contenders,” he would say, briskly. “There are seven contenders other than us.”
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Gradually, Emery’s answers have changed. Instead of batting off the suggestion, he would buy time, asking journalists to wait until “day 33″.
“Until day 33, I don’t want to speak about the possibility of playing in the Champions League,” he said earlier this month. “We can feel comfortable being fourth in the table but Tottenham are behind us.”
Here at the Emirates Stadium, day 33 arrived. The answer was resounding. In beating Arsenal 2-0, Villa had registered a club-record 19th win in a 38-game season and done the double over them for the third time in the Premier League.
Emery walked into the press conference suite and finally admitted that Villa are contenders for a Champions League place:
“Yes… on 63 points… yes, we could be Champions League contenders.”
In the room next door, a photo of Emery remains on the wall. It bears a toothy grin and arms outstretched, with a photo of his successor Mikel Arteta to the right. This was taken in May 2018 upon his arrival at Arsenal, an altogether different time.
Later on in the afternoon after that photo was taken, Emery made concerted efforts to speak in English to the press pack, realising it was essential in getting his message across. The language barrier was challenging and, for all his ability, it was one sticking point that contributed to his decline in north London.
Times have changed and Emery’s improvements in his communication skills and rectifying his blindspots have proven indicative of the success his second crack in England has brought. He is more confident and better equipped to put his points across. On the occasions he does struggle, he has his closest aide and director of football Damian Vidagany to his right in press conferences.
This all means Emery can explain himself in detail and context. Before Villa’s first-leg UEFA Conference League quarter-final against Lille, Emery wanted to convey a particular message regarding the upcoming schedule.
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Villa had recently suggested that the Premier League assess the fixture calendar of English clubs in Europe, making observations as to how teams could be aided to help manage the schedule. And given the gravity of a crunch week of games that included the trip to Arsenal sandwiched between the two legs against Lille — who did not have a game this weekend — Emery trod the line between putting the message across while refusing to offer excuses.
Competing among the elite forms a part of Villa’s levelling-up process. It requires trading between domestic and European commitments and managing periods with little rest. This was Villa’s first rodeo, exacerbated by injuries and unavailability.
Against Arsenal, both of Villa’s first-choice midfield pivot pair were unavailable, making it the first time since April 2022 that neither Boubacar Kamara nor Douglas Luiz were in the starting XI. It meant asking Youri Tielemans and John McGinn to play deeper, given both, as it happened, operated in the two No 10 roles in December’s reverse fixture, when energy levels were plentiful and the toils of a campaign had not yet been felt.
Those close to Emery say his message in the dressing room is never to think of a disadvantage, whether it is fatigue, schedules or injuries. He does not want excuses to seep into players’ mentality, with legs invariably heavier when minds are left to wander.
This, though, was their most arduous challenge. Emery was returning to a dominant Arsenal side and battling against the backdrop of factors that most coaches and players would find solace in using as an excuse.
But this Villa vintage is built in Emery’s mentality. They are relentless and unmitigated, drilled to meticulous detail and unyielding in effort levels. On Sunday alone, coaches held three meetings with the players.
Even after a tough first half, when Arsenal commanded possession and sustained attacks, Villa dug in. McGinn and Tielemans scuttled around, chasing Martin Odegaard and Kai Havertz’s half-space runs, but provided calmness with the ball. McGinn made the most interceptions and blocks of any player, while Tielemans perpetually offered a passing angle inside his box.
GO DEEPER
The Briefing: Arsenal 0 Aston Villa 2: Unai Emery's side leave Arsenal's title bid in the balance
“The only way to win here is to keep possession,” said Emery. “If we tried to run behind for 90 minutes, it would have been difficult. The plan after half-time was to continue building up, avoiding their press and with (Nicolo) Zaniolo, we started holding up the ball more.”
Coaching staff realised Villa could not play loose and fast, needing greater ball retention but the same threat on transition. They watched videos of the 4-1 defeat away to Manchester City 11 days earlier, aiming to take aspects of that performance — the setup of the same front four, with Zaniolo on the left and Moussa Diaby on the right — and refine it here.
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Tactical astuteness can only get a team so far, and Arsenal away tested the mentality. Villa’s second-half display was both a consequence of Emery’s plan and how his no-excuse mentality refused to play into players’ subconscious.
Against the odds, Villa took control. They stayed resilient in the face of deep goalframe misfortune and left Arsenal out of gas and ideas. The dial had swung to the point at which Leon Bailey’s goal with six minutes left of normal time was nothing short of what they deserved.
“We struggled to move the ball into the same areas as we did first half,” said Arteta.
It signified the ultimate system victory. Even with two fewer days of rest than their counterparts, Villa were juggernaut-like in their energy, with Ollie Watkins’ chip delivering a fitting crescendo and bearing a small resemblance to the late Dalian Atkinson’s dinked finish against Wimbledon in 1992.
“We’ve got five finals left,” said Emiliano Martinez. Rarely has a cliche been so insightful in gauging a mindset. By refusing to search for excuses or caveats, Emery has built a single-minded mentality that cuts through tiredness and adversity — and keeps Villa on track for Champions League qualification.
(Top photo: Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
