“How Unai Emery’s Tactical Mastery and New Signings Could Propel Aston Villa to the Next Level”
You can highlight Ollie Watkins’ goals and Emi Martinez’s crucial saves, but no single player carried Aston Villa into the top four last season. It was a collective effort, orchestrated by one of the best managers in the game.
There wasn’t much wrong with Unai Emery’s team last season, but in football, standing still means falling behind. The top clubs are constantly evolving, like Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City. Emery introduced several tactical adjustments last summer, aided by the signing of Pau Torres.
The center-back changed the way Villa played with the ball, allowing Emery’s side to control matches more effectively. In the first half of the season, they scored freely and maintained a solid defense. However, when Boubacar Kamara suffered a knee injury in the 2-1 loss to Manchester United in early February, it was a severe setback—Villa’s third ACL injury of the season.
In their first 16 league games, Villa won 11, lost only three, scored 35 goals, and frequently dominated opponents due to their strong midfield. After Kamara’s injury, they managed just two clean sheets in 14 league games, conceding at least two goals in eight of them.
At the time of Kamara’s injury, it wasn’t clear that he wouldn’t play alongside Douglas Luiz again. Last season, the duo started all but one of the club’s first 16 games, which concluded with a 1-0 win over Arsenal, placing Villa within two points of the top of the league.
Finding adequate competition for Kamara was crucial this summer. While Enzo Barrenechea will develop under Emery, there is no pressure for him to immediately replace Kamara. That responsibility may fall to Amadou Onana, Villa’s £50 million signing from Everton.
Standing at 6ft 5, Onana’s arrival addresses one of Villa’s key issues from last season: defending set-pieces and crosses. Villa’s aerial duel success rate was just 53 percent, below the Premier League average of 59 percent, with only Bournemouth faring worse.
Although Villa ranked seventh for goals conceded last season, a significant portion came from set-pieces. Emery’s side allowed the fifth-most set-piece goals in the Premier League last term, conceding 16, while the other top-four teams—Manchester City (three), Arsenal (seven), and Liverpool (10)—conceded far fewer.
Onana’s aerial duel success rate was over 74 percent last season, higher than any other midfielder in Europe’s top five leagues and the fourth-best of all players in the Premier League.