Arsenal does not want to give up the lead against West Ham United

Aston Villa's commitment to Unai Emery is the sign of a firm project. A 'love' story that he started with money involved, specifically about seven million euros to break his contract with Villarreal, to give him the keys to the club and the necessary resources to resurrect a team that had forgotten to compete. . From relegation places to seventh, with a ticket to the Conference League included, in the 2022/23 season. Now, third, one point behind the leader, they could say goodbye to 2023 at the top of the table.

The Birmingham team once again has an identity, something essential to engage a fan who is 100% with the team and who has taken the license to dream of winning the most competitive league on the planet. But are there really reasons to believe it? Third in the table after 'puncturing' against Sheffield United (1-1), Emery's men have 39 points in the Premier League, tied with the second placed team, Klopp's Liverpool (39) and one point behind the leader, Arteta's Arsenal (40).

Beyond the results, achieved in 18 of the 38 games in the British competition, Emery's success at Villa Park can be understood for several reasons. The first of them, the support of the club. An effort has been made with every request that Hondarribia has had. An involvement that is more than necessary to provide the team with players who grow with their way of understanding football.

After granting several 'wishes' last January, the sports management decided to strengthen the team with everything in the summer as well. In total, they spent almost 100 million euros to bring in Moussa Diaby, Pau Torres, Nicolò Zaniolo, Youri Tielemans and Clément Lenglet. The balance of goals scored and conceded also reflects that visiting Aston Villa at their home stadium is synonymous with having a really bad time. They are the tournament's highest scorers at home (26), and the second-fewest goals conceded (6), behind Newcastle (4).

Emery, a great coach

Unai Emery has won 26 of the 42 games he has managed in the Premier League at the helm of Aston Villa (D7 L9). Across all competitions, he won 31 of his first 50 matches. To put it in context, Pep Guardiola won 29 of his first 50 games, and Jürgen Klopp 23. Although they may seem like empty data, the former Villarreal player has shown that tactically he can compete against the best and should be on the tables of the best technicians. of Europe. Proof of this, he managed to subdue City when he visited them at Villa Park. Beyond the victory (1-0), the villains managed to completely nullify the 'sky blue' team, which only shot twice in the entire match. On the other hand, Emery's team recorded twenty-two, seven of them on goal.