Aston Villa

Nick Mashiter
Senior football news reporter

Aston Villa's Champions League destiny is back in their hands – just as it seemed it could be slipping away.

In what could be a pivotal weekend at the top of the Premier League, Villa took advantage of the 4-0 thumping of Tottenham at Newcastle United to record arguably their best result under Unai Emery.

Sunday’s 2-0 win at Arsenal - a deserved one - restored their three-point cushion in fourth and served to underline their staying power in the race for the top four.

Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins condemned the Gunners to a first Premier League defeat since December as Emery returned to Emirates Stadium to show what he has achieved at Villa - unity, belief and courage.

It is something he was not able to fashion in his 18 months in charge of Arsenal - perhaps a case of right man, wrong time - but he is certainly in the perfect place at Villa Park.

Emery has consistently played down Villa's chances of gatecrashing the top four, insisting they are behind Chelsea and Manchester United in stature and quality.

Yet, even if Villa have not matched their rivals' past achievements, their future perhaps looks brighter.

Aston Villa sounded a warning that they will not be deflected from their target of a top-four place in the Premier League with an outstanding win at Arsenal.

The 2-0 victory leaves Villa three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth having played a game more - with no guarantee that finishing fifth would secure Champions League football next season.

Villa delivered virtually the complete performance under their elite manager Unai Emery, as he returned to the club that sacked him after only 18 months in November 2019 to put the skids under their title aspirations.

Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez produced a miraculous save from Leandro Trossard to keep Villa level at half-time, but Ollie Watkins had already struck the woodwork and another effort from Youri Tielemans after the break somehow stayed out after hitting the post and bar.

Villa's reward came in the shape of late goals from Leon Bailey and Watkins, sealing a win that will surely do wonders for self-belief and confidence as they chase that top-four goal as well as success in the Europa Conference League.

Diego Carlos and John McGinn were outstanding and, with Watkins providing quality and threat up front, Villa looked a class act.

Image source, Getty Images

Leon Bailey hopes Aston Villa take confidence from a superb win at Arsenal.

Bailey struck to give Villa a deserved lead late on, before Ollie Watkins sealed the points.

"I definitely will take confidence from it and I think the team should take a lot of confidence from this game as well," Bailey said.

"The way we played, coming to the Emirates - I think the way we set out was so strong and I think the team really didn't give up too much and we created opportunities at the same time.

"I think from this, we should really take this game into consideration and give ourselves a lot of confidence moving forward."

Image source, Getty Images

Former Manchester City defender Nedum Onuoha says Aston Villa showed impressive game awareness and "broke" Arsenal in Sunday's win.

Unai Emery's side carved out a huge result in the context of the chase for the top four, in what some have dubbed a tactical masterclass from the former Arsenal boss.

"I was really impressed by Aston Villa," said Onuoha on the BBC Radio 5 Live Football Daily podcast.

"They played out from the back from the start of the game to the end and there were times when they were under significant pressure from Arsenal because of it. But they stuck with it and they broke them.

"They could see that Arsenal were tiring and they showed that game awareness."

The Telegraph’s Luke Edwards added: "It was very clever attacking play and they looked really classy.

"We forget what a good season they have had and it was a great performance."

Listen to the Football Daily podcast on BBC Sounds

We asked for your thoughts on Arsenal's home defeat to Aston Villa.

Here are some of your answers:

Arsenal fans

Steve: Same old, same old Arsenal. Why change a winning midfield for a game like this? And with Havertz doing so well up front, unnecessary tinkering by Arteta means that once again City will win the title.

Dilan: Great first half by Arsenal. But I don't understand the substitutions in the second half. It seems like Arteta went more defensive taking off our best player in Odegaard. Arsenal are really missing a centre-forward. This loss is massive and it's all in the hands of Man City now.

Bob: I think we are forgetting that Villa aren't the push overs that most teams think they are. They are a very organised side who are fighting for a Champions League position. They fully deserved their victory and we were too hasty getting rid of Unai Emery.

Aston Villa fans

Scotty: A game of two halves as they say and an overall team performance which justified the three points. Compared to some recent games, we showed more determination, more energy and more desire to get the job done. And it is a massive confidence booster in our battle for the fourth spot which is now ours to lose.

Gary: I had hoped for a strong rear-guard performance and maybe nick one on the break, but I’d have been happy with a draw. What I didn’t expect was such a total team performance and a thoroughly deserved 2-0 win. This was arguably our best performance of the season.

Steveo: Some fabulous performances - Carlos immense, Martinez world class, Watkins so cool. We didn't have a bad player on the pitch - so maybe the London press will finally recognise our quality. Great day for Villa.

Jason Mohammad introduces highlights and analysis from Sunday's three Premier League fixtures.

If you missed Match of the Day 2, you can catch up on the action on BBC iPlayer.

Listen back to Sunday's BBC Radio 5 Live and 5 Sports Extra match commentary in full:

Liverpool v Crystal Palace

West Ham United v Fulham

Arsenal v Aston Villa

Everton are keen on signing 28-year-old Belgium midfielder Leander Dendoncker, who is currently on loan at Napoli, from Aston Villa this summer. (Football Insider), external

Want more transfer news? Read Monday's full gossip column

Unai Emery spoke to BBC's Match of the Day after Aston Villa's win against Arsenal: "Very proud of the players, beating Arsenal here is very difficult and we needed to play and be focused 100% and being very demanding in everything and more organised defensively.

"We needed the biggest commitment to do better than we did against Manchester City, that was the sample we used for this match and then, tried to face them playing in this level because this is the level I want to get to with our players and progressively, we are getting better.

"Of course in 90 minutes, we struggled, maybe if they scored one goal the match would be different but we defended very well, we were very competitive in the first half. In the first half, there was more defending and in the second half, we were more competitive with the ball, tried to keep possession and tried to impose our position on the pitch.

"90 minutes is for everything. The first half, we were being consistent, we weren't doing bad defensively. We were trying to dominate with the ball, keep the possesion tight to avoid players.

"It is 38 matches, today we played number 33. Today, something is more difficult with some things, but we had to always try to learn and try to improve, try to get to our highest level individually and collectively. Today is a very good example, but we now, we need to keep going, move on positively and now, try to avoid circumstances like how last week, against Brentford at home. But this is the Premier League, the most difficult league in the world."

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins spoke to BBC Match of the Day after victory against Arsenal: "I felt like we grew into the game a lot. The longer Arsenal didn't create much, we could see from their body language that they were getting tired and definitely getting frustrated and I think we used that as momentum and motivation really. We grew into the game and we played some really good football.

"We didn't go long too much, the boss demanded that we played out and were brave. If we lost the ball and they scored from it, so be it, but that's the game plan and it worked today. We frustrated them and in both boxes, we were really good.

"When I saw Youri's [Tielemans] hit the bar and the post, I thought 'ah no, it's not going to be our day is it?' I was always calm that we were going to get something. We were frustrating them, we were creating lots of chances and we could see that they were getting tired and we kept plugging away and we stuck at it. I'm delighted with that, it's a massive win.

"Every day, the boss is really demanding. Whether we win or lose, it's back to the training field and work on what we need to do to perform on the pitch. That's one thing we're all very clear on is the game plan. When we're going in, we have long meetings. We had three meetings today, which is tiring but it's clear when you go on the pitch, what you need to do and what is going to happen.

"I think it is what it's about. As a striker, you want to score as many goals as possible. I'm not going to lie, I'm chasing that, I'm doing all that I can to help the team to win and for me to score as many goals and assists to my teammates as possible. I definitely have my eyes on the golden boot. I'm not going to lie to you."

• Aston Villa are unbeaten in their past 10 Premier League games in London (W7 D3), including on all six trips so far this season (W5 D1) – among non-London sides, only Manchester United (3 times) have ever had a longer unbeaten run away from home in the capital.

• Arsenal suffered a Premier League defeat for the first time since New Year’s Eve against Fulham (1-2), whilst they have now failed to score in two of their past four league games, having only gone goalless in three of their first 28 games this season.

• Aston Villa’s Leon Bailey has been directly involved in seven goals as a substitute in the Premier League this season (three goals, four assists), more than any other player.

• There were 21 shots in the first half of this game (14 by Arsenal, 7 by Aston Villa) with only Man City v Brentford in February (22) seeing more first half attempts without a goal being produced in a Premier League match this season. Meanwhile, Aston Villa scored with their only two shots on target in the game.

• Ollie Watkins has scored 19 goals in the Premier League this season, the joint-most ever in a campaign for Aston Villa along with Christian Benteke in 2012-13. Only Erling Haaland (20) has scored more goals this term than the Englishman.

Aston Villa produced an outstanding performance to stun Arsenal at Emirates Stadium and leave Manchester City in pole position in the Premier League title race.

The game started with high anticipation for the Gunners after Liverpool's shock home defeat by Crystal Palace but Arsenal were desperately disappointing and ended up well beaten as Villa boss Unai Emery made a winning return to his former club.

Arsenal were fortunate to remain on level terms for so long against the impressive visitors, who secured a deserved win to move three points ahead of Tottenham in fourth having played a game more.

The only surprise was that it took Villa until six minutes from the end to open the scoring - Ollie Watkins and Youri Tielemans hit the woodwork in each half before Leon Bailey finally broke the deadlock with a low finish at the far post.

Arsenal were kept out in the first half when Villa keeper Emiliano Martinez made a stunning save from Leandro Trossard but the visitors wrapped up the win when Watkins raced clear in the 87th minute to loft a composed finish over David Raya.

It completed a perfect weekend for reigning champions City, who are now two points clear at the top with Arsenal ahead of Liverpool on goal difference.

Were you at the match or did you follow it from elsewhere?

Arsenal fans - let us know your thoughts on the game here

How did you rate the side's performance, Villa fans?

Follow all of the reaction here

Three matches make up Sunday's Premier League action, and we will bring you every moment.

All times BST

Listen to radio commentaries of all matches and follow live text updates here

Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For this weekend's games, he takes on actor and Leyton Orient fan Daniel Mays.

Sutton's prediction: 3-1

Arsenal got a bit of criticism for their performance against Bayern Munich in midweek but I didn't think they were that bad.

You can't be dismissive of Bayern with the players they've got and if Bukayo Saka had gone for goal at the end of the game rather than chucking himself into Manuel Neuer, Arsenal would have won. I don't know what Saka was thinking there.

This is another tricky game for the Gunners with former boss Unai Emery returning to Emirates Stadium. Aston Villa beat them before Christmas and they are very dangerous coming forward.

Villa have definitely got a goal in them, but I don't think they are going to outscore Arsenal. There is too much at stake now for Mikel Arteta's side, and the Premier League leaders have too much to lose.

Daniel's prediction: 3-2

This could be a thriller.

See the full list of predictions here

Image source, Getty Images

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery expects a "completely different" match against leaders Arsenal on Sunday, compared to their home victory over the Gunners earlier in the season.

Villa beat the Gunners 1-0 at Villa Park in December, a result that moved them within two points of top spot and one point behind Mikel Arteta's side.

Since then, Villa have slipped away from the top three but remain well-placed for Champions League qualification, while Arsenal are in contention to win their first league title for 20 years.

Asked if Villa can repeat that victory, Emery said: "This is completely different, we played at home at Villa Park in December. It's something similar because a lot of players will again be playing and fighting in those teams, but different because we are playing at Emirates Stadium and in a different context.

"They are now fighting to win the Premier League this year and we are now fighting behind them trying to keep our fifth position we have now and fighting with Tottenham.

"It is different because as well some players, being injured, are not going to play on Sunday."

Centre-back Clement Lenglet and full-back Matty Cash trained on Friday and a late decision will be made about whether they will be involved in Sunday's match.

Tom Gayle
BBC Radio 5 Live reporter at Villa Park

Image source, Getty Images

Of the Aston Villa matchday squad selected for the first game of the 2021-22 Premier League season, only eight players still remain at the club. Of the Aston Villa coaching staff which started the same campaign, just one member remains: set-piece specialist Austin MacPhee.

Originally appointed to work under Dean Smith, the Scot’s services have been retained by both Steven Gerrard and current head coach Unai Emery.

The 44-year-old has played an integral part in the club's recent evolution and victory over Lille provided the perfect example of MacPhee’s importance, with both goals coming from a corner set-piece.

My position in the press box at Villa Park offered a near perfect view of the home dugout.

Without fail, every time Aston Villa generated a dead-ball situation in the final third of the pitch, MacPhee and his flowing locks would spring into action. He would position himself in the top left-hand corner of the technical area, with Emery retreating back to his seat.

Through a combination of whistles, yells and demonstrative arm actions, all delivered with a number of claret and blue shirts looking over their shoulder directly at him, MacPhee would clarify which exact routine was required for the specific situation.

Ollie Watkins told TNT Sports after the match that MacPhee’s extensive work at the training ground is "not the most exciting" and can be "a little bit boring".

However, of the 94 goals Villa have scored this season, 24 have originated from a set-piece, which works out to about 25%.

Whether Aston Villa go on to win the Europa Conference League, secure Champions League qualification, achieve both, or neither, MacPhee is clearly helping the club deliver on those fine margins needed to be successful.

Here are the key facts and figures before Sunday's game between Arsenal and Aston Villa in the Premier League.

• Arsenal have won five of their past six home Premier League games against Aston Villa, losing the other 3-0 in November 2020.

• Villa are unbeaten in their past nine Premier League away games against London sides (W6 D3), having lost eight of their previous nine before this. It is their longest run without defeat in the capital in their league history.

• The Gunners have won 10 of their past 11 Premier League games, scoring at least twice in each victory. They have conceded just four goals across these 11 games, though three of those have been at Emirates Stadium.

• Villa have caught their opponents offside 142 times in the Premier League this season, which is more than 40 more than any other side - and only Manchester City (33) have been flagged offside themselves less often than Unai Emery's side (38).

• Bukayo Saka has been involved in 11 goals in his past 11 league appearances, scoring nine and assisting two. One more goal would see him become the first English player to score 15 in a league campaign for Arsenal since Ian Wright in 1996-97 (23).

• Ollie Watkins has been involved in 11 goals in his past 10 league games (nine goals, two assists), and seven in his past four away from home (five goals, two assists). His 18 goals this season is the second most by an Aston Villa player in a Premier League campaign, after Christian Benteke (19 in 2012-13).

Listen to BBC Radio 5 Live commentary of Arsenal v Aston Villa at 16:30 BST on Sunday

We asked for your thoughts on Aston Villa's Europa Conference League quarter-final performance against Lille.

Here are some of your responses:

Gareth: A win that felt like a defeat. Villa never really got out of second gear and applied the pressure we know they can. If we're as open as we were on Thursday, Villa will take a beating in France. Martinez proved again why he's the world's number one keeper!

Jas: Poor defending on numerous occasions by Villa. Martinez saved us too many times, giving the late goal away was costly. We could have had a penalty and led 3-0. Defence has been a concern these past eight weeks, league form has dipped, it will be tough to win away at Lille with their home form but Emery will work a plan to hopefully see us through.

Keith: A good result on the night. Everyone played their part in a slim win but they need to be more ruthless in front of goal next week if they are to progress into the semi-finals.

Ian: Villa's defence has become very shaky. Lille nearly did a ‘Brentford’ on us. Worrying for the away leg and the last few matches of this season. Think Unai will be looking to strengthen defence in the summer.

Robert: A good start and we were coasting, but then our usual defensive frailties less us down - again! Emery needs to sort out that defence, it's not just good enough.

Simon Stone
Chief football news reporter

Liverpool's unexpected defeat by Atalanta on Thursday, coupled with West Ham's late reverse at Bayer Leverkusen, has damaged England's hopes of securing a fifth Champions League spot next season.

Both England and Germany gained two co-efficient points on the night, thanks to victories for Aston Villa and Leverkusen.

However, Germany's points are worth slightly more as they are divided by seven – the number of Bundesliga teams in Europe this season – rather than England's eight.

So, Germany remain in second spot in the overall table on 16.785, just ahead of England on 16.75.

Additional points are awarded for qualification as well as match results, so Arsenal and West Ham's second legs against German opposition next week are going to be crucial.

With five points on Thursday, from two wins and a draw, Italy has now moved clear at the top with 18.428 and are now virtually certain to get one of the two additional places in next season's Champions League.

Roma, fifth in Serie A, are in line to profit, although it also benefits surprise challengers Bologna, who are fourth.

Napoli will not take up the option to turn midfielder Leander Dendoncker's loan from Aston Villa into a permanent deal. (Calciomercato - in Italian), external

Want more transfer news? Read Friday's full gossip column