From The Athletic - another decent analysis.
ONE STEP TOO FAR FOR ASTON VILLA, BUT THE MAIN ASPIRATIONS REMAIN
Aston Villa’s travelling fans could be heard from a pub near the Emirates a few hours before kick-off. There was little anxiety, but rather excitement about what might be.
Including eight straight league wins, Villa had an opportunity to record an unprecedented 12th straight victory in all competitions, breaking records set as recently as 1914.
That was the word that captured Villa’s mood — opportunity.
The onus was on Arsenal to win. Talk of Villa being in a title race was always premature, but due to the significant number of points in the bank within the incredible run of form, they were nestled in a Champions League position — a target that seemed unthinkable not so long ago.
Unai Emery, returning to the Emirates for a third time as Villa manager, viewed things differently. The photo of him, arms outstretched and resting on two red chairs on his unveiling day at Arsenal, still hangs prominently in the Arsenal media suite.
Every match is of equal importance to him, yet cracks at the club which dented his reputation invariably engender a greater edge, whether he likes to admit it or not. Marching straight down the tunnel at full time following the first defeat at his old club showed just as much, even if he insisted it was because of both the cold and wanting to assess the match immediately with staff.
In the Midlands, Emery’s reputation has been overwhelmingly restored. Villa’s unique selling point is the manager, not any player or wrinkle within the internal structure. Emery is their most influential asset and what he has managed this season may be the greatest performance of his career.
By extension, backing up the 2-1 victory at Stamford Bridge 72 hours earlier by overcoming the team that Emery viewed as the Premier League’s best, did not seem beyond the realms of possibility.
For the first half, such belief did not subside. Villa played on the tension in the air. Home supporters were anxious, reflected by their players.
Emery’s approach was similar to previous years’ visiting the Emirates. Without the ball, he condensed space between the lines, forcing Arsenal to attack in wide areas. On his first league start, Jadon Sancho dropped alongside Lamare Bogarde, who was moonlighting at right-back. Emery rarely wants his full-backs to venture outside the width of the 18-yard box, so he tasks his wide players to track back.
Consequently, Villa often appeared in a 6-3-1 shape. Amadou Onana would drop into the backline to stay goalside of Mikel Merino, while through the pantomime villain of Emiliano Martinez, Villa regularly stymied momentum. In the first half alone, the ball was only in play for 24 minutes.
In possession, he asked for courage. Villa had an extra player in deep areas so were comfortable in keeping the ball and waiting for Arsenal to jump onto the backline, due to their desire or angst to press high.
When Arsenal jumped, Villa played quickly through the lines to Emiliano Buendia and Morgan Rogers. Repeatedly early on, Villa exploited Arsenal’s press being a couple of yards too far off — namely Gabriel, who was following Rogers.
Emery probably did not envisage so many transitional opportunities in the first quarter of an hour. His side carried out the plan expertly, other than making the most of entries into the final third.
“We struggled in the first half, with Villa playing through us, which they are very good at,” Mikel Arteta told reporters after the match. “When you play against a team who are in such a moment, they are really good. Extremely well coached, very efficient and can drag you in a game which is constantly on a thin line.”
From a tactical standpoint, Villa were in a far more astute position than they were at the break against Chelsea. There were few issues to fix, aside from Onana’s injury-forced withdrawal.
The Belgian midfielder’s injury amplified Villa’s lack of depth. Ordinarily, Bogarde would have replaced Onana but he was at right-back, filling in for the suspended Matty Cash. The other absentee, Boubacar Kamara, is Emery’s first-choice defensive midfielder. There is acknowledgement from Emery and his staff that absorbing the impact of having no Kamara or Onana in most games — especially away at Arsenal — makes a significant difference to how Villa operate.
John McGinn was brought on to play in a much deeper position than he is accustomed to, with Villa’s usual sense of stability spiralling. Martinez’s error for Arsenal’s set-piece opener hastened the risk of a collapse.
Andres Garcia was sent on for his first appearance since April, underlining the squad’s thinness. The well-oiled approach from the first half broke down. The nature of the second goal, with Youri Tielemans’ pass intercepted centrally, betrayed a group that could no longer execute the initial strategy.
Villa were overrun but potential swing moments, such as Merino not being shown a second yellow, did not reinforce hope of a revival.
Two became three, three became four. An evenly contested battle disintegrated. Regardless of the chaos of the second half, Emery remained keen to find ways “to practice” during matches. That involved the debut of 18-year-old midfielder George Hemmings, regarded as the jewel in the academy’s crown.
“Here’s to you, Unai Emery, we love you more than you will ever know,” sang the away support in the far corner, who were offered light relief after Ollie Watkins reduced the scoreline to 4-1.
“Football,” was Emery’s response when asked what went wrong. “We were feeling comfortable. But the second half, we conceded the first goal, then the second goal and Onana’s injury didn’t help us because he’s important for us in set pieces and in the middle.”
This was one step too far for a team that had been the best-performing in Europe. So although this was an opportunity, the result was not a missed opportunity — more so one that had been presented to them because of their previous exceptional work.
It has led Villa to be entrenched in a Champions League spot, which was, and is, the aspiration.
