More than half of the current Premier League season has already been played, and one of the biggest revelations remains Aston Villa. At the time of writing, Unai Emery’s side sit third in the table, six points behind leaders Arsenal. Can Aston Villa truly fight for the title? We explore that question. Reported by euro-football.rureports.
Unai Emery took charge of Aston Villa in November 2022. Before him, the Birmingham club had not appeared in the Europa League for 15 years and had not played in the Champions League for 41 years. Now the club are playing in European competition for a third consecutive season. In spring 2025, the English side reached the Champions League quarter-finals: they even managed to beat the tournament’s eventual winner in one match, but lost on aggregate on goal difference. Emery is a system coach: to deliver results he needs time and full backing from the board. Perhaps that is why his spells at Arsenal and PSG did not go as expected, while in Birmingham everything has clicked.
The new Premier League season started tough for Aston Villa — they failed to win any of their first five matches. There was even talk of Emery being sacked, but over time the situation stabilized and the team began winning consistently. The “Lions” last drew in September; since then they have won 18 of 21 matches — an outstanding record. Before the 1–4 defeat to Arsenal, Emery’s side were on an 11-game winning streak, yet the heavy loss did not break the players’ spirit: last Saturday they recorded a confident 3–1 win over Nottingham Forest.
Now to their chances in the title race. Against the backdrop of a strong Arsenal and a Manchester City that have finally found their rhythm, the Birmingham side’s room for error may look limited. However, this season Aston Villa, unlike in previous years, have learned to play boldly not only against mid-table teams and underdogs, but also against the giants. In the first half of the season they beat Tottenham, Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea. That is five wins against the “big six”, with only Liverpool beating them.
At the same time, squad depth could be the decisive factor in the title race. Both Arsenal and Manchester City have deep benches and experience of fighting for major goals. The packed schedule around Christmas will be a real test for Aston Villa: if Emery’s men avoid dropping points in that period and can strengthen in January, the title will look even closer. Even after the away loss to Arsenal, it is too early to write Aston Villa off: six points is not a critical gap, and a large part of the season still lies ahead. Ten years ago Leicester pulled off a sensation without huge resources — why couldn’t Emery’s Aston Villa repeat it?
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