Premier League: Villa and Emery look to be the perfect match

THERE is no Premier League action this weekend as the FA Cup third round and Carabao Cup semi-finals come into view. This allows Aston Villa a bit of breathing space to appreciate their remarkable second-place position at this stage in the league.

Unai Emery’s Birmingham outfit take on a Middlesbrough side this evening on Riverside, but with the advantage of them knowing that Boro may well have one eye on their Carabao Cup semi-final opportunity against Chelsea the following Tuesday.

Any advancement in the FA Cup to go along with the progress in the Premier League will add to Emery’s growing credentials among the Villa fans since taking over from the misfiring reign of Steven Gerrard back in November of 2022.

Record run

Since then, Emery has done some wonderful work with the club on a fraction of the budget of some more illustrious clubs.

Only Arsenal, Liverpool, and Manchester City have taken more points than Aston Villa since Emery’s appointment at Villa Park. The Spanish coach has masterminded 25 wins and just nine defeats from his 40 Premier League matches in charge. This included an incredible 15-match winning streak that only game to an end against lowly Sheffield United in a 1-1 draw the week before last.

This run has taken Villa from being regular relegation zone dwellers to now genuine title contenders.

As we have said before in this column, Emery’s short time at Arsenal was seen as a disappointing outcome. But he was cursed by being judged to the standards of a legendary manager that preceded him. Filling Arsene Wenger’s boots was not going to be easy, nor should it be the benchmark to compare Emery’s record.

As one Gunners fan pointed out, people were looking for another Wenger era, a vision for another dynasty. Emery was just looking to win the next match.

Following in the footsteps of a legend is never an easy task, just ask the succession of managers shown the door at Old Trafford after Alex Ferguson. But even in Emery’s Arsenal situation, his record at the Emirates was not all that bad and was not bettered by the current Arsenal boss, Mikael Arteta, until relatively recently.

European promise

Emery does not carry the burden of expectations at Villa. Let’s be frank, most Villains are probably ecstatic to be in the title mix rather than fighting for their life in the relegation zone.

And there is no way to understate what a good deal they got with Emery. Maybe the perception of his time at Arsenal allowed him to slip in under the radar of the English game observers. But again, it needs to be pointed out that the Spaniard won the Europa League three times in a row with Sevilla between 2013-2016, he won the French Ligue with PSG in 2018, had his fruitless season with Arsenal in 2018-19, yet still got them to the final again in the Europa League. After that he returned to Spain and won the 2021 Europa League again, this time with the unfashionable tiny club, Villarreal.

If for no other reason than his record in the Europa League, every Villa fan should be excited with their potential in the Europa Conference League this season. Remember they easily topped their Group E to qualify straight through to the last 16 round next month.

These results and home performances have shown that the Unai Emery message has clicked with the Villa players. The club and manager are the perfect match. A manager looking for a project to display his abilities meets a big enough club desperately in need of someone to shake things up. 

It has been helped with some key signings such as their goalkeeper, the World Cup-winning Emi Martinez, and Brazilian defender Diego Carlos.

Boubacar Kamara, John McGinn, Douglas Luiz and Jacob Ramsey have been dominant in midfield, especially at home. While the Moussa Diaby and Ollie Watkins partnership in attack has clicked surprisingly well.

Can it last?

The absence of Tyrone Mings due to injury has been a major setback in defence, and it’s in this situation that some have questioned if Villa have the depth to continue their title hunt while maintaining midweek Europa Conference League commitments, not to mind what might come from a positive result against Boro in the FA Cup tonight.

The simple answer from Villa fans should be, who cares?

They are well ahead of schedule in their progress and even if silverware eludes them this season, they are very well placed to claim Champions League qualification.

And who would have predicted that at the start of the season?