Smart tactics and signings - how Unai Emery's Aston Villa keep out-performing the "big six"

On Sunday Aston Villa once again confirmed why they are now one of English football's most formidable teams, when they dispatched of Premier League title contenders Arsenal with a 2-0 win. The result was not only the latest in a long run of points the Villa Park side have taken from England's "Big Six" clubs, but also saw Unai Emery's side move back into the coveted fourth place in the league, with the club clinging to hopes of qualifying for next season's Champions League. 

Indeed, while many have been transfixed by the dramatic three-way title race at the top of the league table, Villa have been involved in an equally intriguing battle with Tottenham for the final Champions League spot. Both teams have tussled back and forth all season long, but results such as the one over Mikel Arteta's team on Sunday continue to hint that Villa may have the extra edge over their North London rivals. And when we dive into the stats for the club since Emery took over last season, we can see that the Spaniard has turned his side into a team that are now deserving of a top-four finish in May. 

Unai Emery’s Villa transformation

There’s little doubt that Villa fans have been in dreamland since Emery took over the reigns at the Birmingham club, as the Spanish tactician has quickly turned around a team that were languishing towards the bottom of the table under Steven Gerrard and dragged them into top four contention. This clear improvement on the pitch can be seen in the fact that Gerrard’s record in the Premier League as Villa manager stood at just 1.16 points per game, while Emery’s towers over his predecessor’s with an impressive 1.93 points per game. However, it isn’t just Gerrard that Emery is overshadowing. As the graphic above shows, only four managers in the English top-flight have picked up more points since Emery arrived at Villa Park or indeed have a better points per game average than the 52-year-old head coach. 

Standing up to the “Big Six” 

More often than not, clubs can start climbing the Premier League table pretty quickly by maximising their points against teams in the bottom half of the league, but in Emery’s case he’s truly built a team that can go toe-to-toe with the clubs they’re now rubbing shoulders with in the top four. For example, as we can see in the graphic above, when we look at Villa’s record against the traditional “Big Six” clubs in England, we see that Villa have actually wrestled just as many points off them than they have off the Birmingham club since Emery arrived. The Villa Park side have been particularly impressive against Tottenham (nine points from 12) and Chelsea (six points from nine), but have certainly given as good as they get against the likes of Man City (one win, two defeats) and Arsenal (two wins, one defeat). In fact, if we were to narrow the Premier League down to the six clubs involved and Villa and rank them based on their record against one another this season, Villa would be joint-top alongside Man City with 15 points, with Arsenal and Spurs sitting second and third with 13 and 12 points respectively. In other words, few could deny that Villa deserve to be fighting for a top four finish this season. 

How Villa run rings around their rivals in the transfer window 

What’s perhaps most remarkable about Villa rising up the league table under Emery is the fact that the club haven’t had to spend huge amounts of money to get them fighting for a top four finish. Indeed, in the three transfer windows that Emery has had as Villa manager, the club have spent €149m on new signings - which may seem like a lot but is far less than the clubs that they’re currently rubbing shoulders with in the Premier League. In fact, when it comes to bang for their buck, few clubs in the English top-flight can rival Villa this season. As the graph above shows, which shows the difference in a club’s expenditure on new players in comparison to their league counterparts and their position in the league table, Villa are sitting comfortably six positions higher than their transfer activity would suggest. Well above the often considered smarter clubs in the league, such as Brentford, and most notably punching well above their weight in comparison to the traditional “top six”.