2What do Chelsea, Arsenal, Manchester United, Bournemouth, Tottenham, Liverpool, Burnley, Newcastle, Manchester, and Nottingham Forest have in common>? They are the ten Premier League clubs with a bigger net spend than Aston Villa. However, after 16 games, only two teams find themselves above the Villans. This has been a tremendous effort by Unai Emery in a season that was said to be the most competitive in the league’s history.
When the Spaniard took charge of Aston Villa, few would have expected the Spaniard to make Aston Villa a force to be reckoned with. His previous spell in the Premier League at Arsenal was a big reason for this, which ended in disastrous circumstances.
However, apart from that, Emery was a serial winner elsewhere with 12 trophies, including one league title (with Paris Saint Germain) and four Europa League titles (three with Sevilla and one with Villareal).
And the 52-year-old has found his groove in his second stint in the league, making a team that has outperformed the expectations of even the most optimistic Villa fans. So, what is Emery’s new mantra that has transformed the club into a winning juggernaut?
Aston Villa tactics 2022-23
When Unai Emery was appointed Aston Villa manager in November 2022, Aston Villa were a mess. The club had only won three out of 13 games and were one point above the relegation zone. On top of that, they scored 4.62 goals less according to the Expected Goals (xG), the fourth worst in the league and 5.21 less on the Expected Points (xP), the second-worst league.
One of the first things Emery changed was instructing his team to keep the ball. The Spaniard wanted more possession, no matter which half the ball was. Less possession to the opposition meant fewer chances of them creating something meaningful in attack.
The mantra was simple: keep the ball and patiently wait for the opposition to commit a mistake. Most of the time, the error came from one particular situation. With the club keeping the ball in their half, the opposition were forced to deploy a high press. This left gaps between their attack and midfield, where Villa thrived. Using quick passing, they would bypass the high press and use their wingers on full-backs to stretch the opposition’s defence.
Another commandment that Emery drilled into his squad was the compact nature of the defence. The centre backs appeared under strict instructions to keep the backline shape intact. This meant that even though the opposition got near the goal, often due to the formation of defence, they were unable to get a shot or find a pass to break them.
When the season ended, Aston Villa had taken 49 points from 25 games to finish seventh in the league. On top of that, they conceded 26 goals during that period, the fourth-best defence in the league. They also scored 5.83 goals more than their xG, the third-best in the league and a whopping 11.85 points more than Expected Point (xP), the best in the league. These were massive improvements made by a manager appointed mid-season, which made fans and the club’s hierarchy hopeful for a better season in the 2023-24 Premier League.
Aston Villa tactics 2023-24
Coming into the season, Aston Villa had a well-settled squad, and they further bolstered it with some smart signings. Youri Tielemans came for free, while Clement Lenglet and Nicolò Zaniolo joined on a loan to provide squad depth. These free transfer and loan moves left the club with substantial money for big transfers such as Moussa Diaby (€55 million) and Pau Torres (€33 million).
Villa entered the new season with a brilliant squad with many bench options, allowing them to rotate their team and account for any injuries in the season. And this has paid huge dividends.
The team has kept the same tactics as last year, but with the added quality, they have managed to inflict more damage on the opposition. Comparing their stats with the Premier League average brings us an interesting conclusion. Of the metrics, Villa fare better on seven metrics (possession, shots conceded, goals conceded, Field Tilt, Shots, Goals and Crosses), but the only metric where they have fared worse is long balls.
With the added quality, Villa focus on creating inroads with patiently calculated passing rather than just flinging the ball over the top and hoping for something to happen.
5 – Jarrod Bowen is the third player in Premier League history to score in each of their team’s first five away games in a campaign, after Thierry Henry (2001-02) and Mohamed Salah (2021-22). Bowen is the first player to do so for West Ham in the top-flight. Railcard. pic.twitter.com/2tU3zp7GHr
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) October 22, 2023
After losing to Newcastle 5-1 in their season’s opening game, Aston Villa wreaked their tactics by deploying intense Gegenpressing. However, the objective of their high press is different. Villa didn’t win the ball often from their pressing, but they ensured that they kept the opposition at bay and, simultaneously, got a fair amount of chances in the games.
And with a goal conversion rate of 13.92 per cent, the third best in the league, even a small chance spells danger for the opposition. Emery has focused on ensuring that the team conceded as little possession as possible in their half. And when this is deployed with a high press, the rival team is left with few options to move the ball forward.
Jarrod Bowen has been the focal point of attack with nine goals, the fourth-most in the league. He has had support from Ollie Watkins. The midfield four of John McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Boubacar Kamara and Leon Bailey have worked tirelessly to ensure that others in their team can do what they do best.
What Unai Emery has achieved with a team like Aston Villa is still astonishing. The wins over Manchester City and Arsenal have proven the merits of his methods and made the Villans a serious contender for the Champions League places.
It’s the rise of a team and a reinvention of a manager throughout his career, and this appears to be his latest heist. Unai Emery may not have seen success in his first spell in England, but he sure is creating history in his second one.