Aston Villa boss Unai Emery was unsurprisingly delighted with his side’s performance in our 2-0 win over Arsenal on Sunday.
Goals from Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins sealed the three points on a memorable evening at the Emirates, as it could prove to be a huge result in our pursuit of Champions League qualification.
READ MORE: Villa player ratings vs Arsenal: Key quintet superb in brilliant 2-0 win
After a battling first half where we had to show defensive resilience but also still managed to show an attacking threat, Villa were brilliant after the break as we grew into the game and started to gain more control and possession.
That was the assessment from Emery too as he lauded the second half performance from the players, while also suggesting that lessons were learned from our defeat at Manchester City earlier this month.
“Before the match we were very motivated and very excited about the possibility,” he told Sky Sports, as per BBC Sport. “This is a very tough match and we needed to be focusing very well defensively. We wanted to be strong and have high commitment to defence as were in the first half. We tried to do 90 minutes being consistent and wait for our moment to control the game.
“The first half was more difficult but we tried to dominate with the ball. We did that less than in the second half. Second half we competed very well. But we are not being consistent in every match like I want. But today we were fantastic.
“We analyse deeply before each match and we played 10 days ago at Manchester City and lost 4-1. We were trying to understand a lot of things we did good but we needed one step to do something better.
“Today was an example. Firstly, it was in defence. The defence was strong. We tried to be narrow and avoid line passes then being compact with the players. More or less, that was the first idea we had. Then it as about trying to get time with the ball. We did, better in the second half and we imposed ourselves.”
Villa moved back into fourth place as a result of this weekend’s results, and it will hopefully prove to be the catalyst for a big finish to the campaign now, starting in Europe on Thursday night.
As reiterated by Emiliano Martinez after the game though, as superb a result as this is, there is still work to be done in our final five Premier League games to achieve our objective as we’ve put a disappointing run behind us.
All the players deserve credit for the shift that they put in on Sunday, but Emery himself should be applauded too for putting together a game-plan and set-up that proved to be effective, and ultimately produced a huge win.
Emery later added: “Very proud of the players, how faced them being very competitive. Being also struggling at times but waiting our moment and progressively, we were dominating the match. But of course, 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.
“Football is to play with the ball. Without the ball, we tried to get good posititoning, we tried to stop the opponent, we tried to win. We tried to play and then tried to play with our skills. Of course, we did everything in those ways I think very well.
“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. We didn’t do very well, but we were tired but we even got one chance with Ollie Watkins hitting the post. In the second half, we were planning the same but we did better than in the first. We were imposing, but we had more chances and hit the post but then we had two very good goals and we didn’t concede a lot then and this is the mentality. The mentality is true and every player is responding on the pitch.
“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.
“It’s not for me, it’s for Aston Villa. Now we have 63 and we are closer to being in the top five. That is the only thought I had before the match.
“It was tough because Arsenal are having an incredible season. I’ve very proud of our work and the focus of the players, being demanding of themselves.”
On Champions League qualification:”Yes [it feels like a big step]. But today was the same three points we were playing for last weekend against Brentford when we were 2-0 up and drew.
“It’s the same three points we’ll play for next Saturday. If we are not consistent then we can lose. This is the level we want to be at.”