Aston Villa secured a 3-1 win over Luton Town on Sunday, which in turn made it 12 consecutive Premier League home wins as we extended our fine form at Villa Park.
John McGinn and Moussa Diaby set us on our way with our opening two goals as dominated the encounter for the most part, while an own goal added a third and made it safe.
READ MORE: What Unai Emery said in assessment of Villa’s win over Luton
Although we conceded via an own goal of our own, it wasn’t enough to deny us another three points as we continue to solidify our place in fifth spot in the standings and show impressive signs under Unai Emery.
Villa have a week to prepare for the trip to Nottingham Forest now, and it’s hoped that the players are able to recharge and regroup over a rare midweek break to extend our current form.
Fortress Villa Park continues to deliver
While our winning run dates back to last season as we’ve now made it 12 consecutive home league wins, our form at Villa Park this season alone has been exceptional.
In five games at home, Villa have scored 20 goals and conceded just four, as we continue to implement and tweak our gameplan and preferred playing style to dominate and control proceedings.
While every game is a challenge and Emery won’t be looking further ahead than Forest next weekend, it’s imperative that we continue to use our home form as a foundation for our pursuit of success this season with the coaching staff, players and supporters now making it a difficult venue for any side that visits.
Emery creating elite mentality by demanding more
While the Villa boss rightly praises his team and continuously emphasises the importance of the connection with the supporters, there is another common trend in his post-match interviews.
The Spaniard is always demanding more. Part of it is to guard against complacency and to maintain our current level, but he also has a clear belief that he can still get more out of this group of players as we continue to adapt, implement and execute his preferred game-plans.
That is creating a competitive, winning and elite mentality within this squad, as we’re not settling for what we’ve achieved and are striving for more. The results are exceptional, but what makes this sustainable is the identity and mentality being built at the club.
Martinez approach backs that up
The above point is reflected in the team by Emiliano Martinez. Although the Villa goalkeeper was happy in his social media post with the win, he was also frustrated that he didn’t keep a clean sheet.
A bizarre own goal denied him on this occasion, and given his last league clean sheet was against Chelsea on September 24, it’s understandable as to why he was disappointed.
That though is another perfect example of the mentality and attitude within this group. Of course, we celebrate and enjoy the results, but also with a clear awareness that we have to continue to get better.
Diaby on the mark at home
Diaby finally registered his first goal at Villa Park this past weekend, and it came in another impressive performance from the Frenchman who continues to add quality and class to our attack.
Aside from the goal and his involvement in our third to force the mistake for the own goal, his movement and pace in the final third continued to cause Luton problems as he dragged defenders out of position and create openings elsewhere.
His partnership with Ollie Watkins continues to stand out even though they’re not always decisive at the same time, with the Villa attacking duo creating more chances [17] than any other duo in the Premier League so far this season.
Digne continues to play key role
Given the workload put on him in Alex Moreno’s absence and the lack of alternative options, Lucas Digne has been hugely important and impressive so far this campaign.
The Frenchman has made 15 appearances, scoring one goal and providing five assists, and barring the second leg of our Europa Conference League qualifying round tie, he has been involved in every game thus far.
There are still concerns defensively at times, but his energy, work ethic, tactical awareness and threat down the left flank with the quality of his delivery have all been integral to our positive form, and Moreno will certainly have a job on his hands to win his place back next month.
