Since Aston Villa took the knee at Anfield against Liverpool (2-0) on November 1, Unai Emery’s team … He has been collecting victories that have brought him to the Emirates today with the possibility of not only reaching the leadership of the Premier League held by Arsenal, but also of surpassing his record of 11 consecutive victories that he equaled on Saturday with his victory at Stamford Bridge against Chelsea.
«We have a very difficult game. We know their level, what they are doing, but it is also a nice game to prepare for and play,” Mikel Arteta, one of the six former Realists who will be on the Emirates pitch today along with Zubimendi, Merino, Odegaard, Emery and his assistant Pako Ayestarán, said during his appearance yesterday. Maybe from the box or from God knows where Roberto Olabe will also be.
«They deserve to be there. Look at what they are doing and their perseverance, and what Unai has done with the club,” continued the San Sebastian coach. “I think they deserve all the recognition because they are doing it on the field, where the level has to be demonstrated.”
The Premier League is often used as an example of many things, but the calendar is not exactly one of them. Arsenal and Aston Villa meet again 24 days after they did so on matchday 15 at Villa Park. A nonsense when the first round has not yet finished. Then Birmingham won 2-1 thanks to a goal from Emi Buendía in the 95th minute. “We will review it,” Arteta said in reference to that match. «I have some ideas and things that we need to improve. “The way we lost him was pretty cruel too, but we’ll learn from it.” When asked if that defeat could be a motivation, the Gunner coach did not hesitate to respond that “if you use that motivation and that anger in the right way, sure.”
The nightmare of the Big Six
But nothing seems to stop Emery’s team, riding a wave that cannot be guessed when it may break. In these 11 victories they have managed to beat Manchester City (1-0), Tottenham (1-2), Arsenal (2-1), Manchester United (2-1) and Chelsea (1-2), five of the six components of the so-called Big Six. Even so, yesterday the Hondarribiarra avoided talking about his chances of winning the Premier League: «Two years ago we finished the first round with 39 points. Right now we have 39 points and you ask me the same question. So we finished fourth, in a Champions League position. That was fantastic, but talking about the title makes no sense to us. Now, in December, it doesn’t make sense,” he repeated.
«Of course we are motivated, but, for now, we have our energy focused on the game we want to play tomorrow. There are three points of difference between them and us, that is our motivation. If today we think about what will happen after 38 games, life happens and we are not enjoying it.
Emery, who will have the significant losses of two starters like Cash and Kamara, believes that today’s match will be different from that at Villa Park since “they play at the Emirates and will feel stronger with the support of their fans.”
However, the Hondarribiarra was already able to achieve victory there in April of last year (0-2) in a match that meant that Arsenal buried their chances of winning the Premier League.
Be that as it may, today Aston Villa, even if they win, will not be able to lead the Premier League, something they have not achieved since January 1999. The difference in the goals for and against, a criterion that is applied in England to settle ties, works against them. But that’s another story.
