Aston Villa's Journey Under Unai Emery: From Turmoil to Triumph
The Holte End told the story before a ball was kicked.
As Aston Villa emerged to face Viking in the Champions League, a vast tifo dropped from the famous stand: “We’ve Conquered Before. We’re Prepared For More.” Below it, Unai Emery walked along the touchline to a standing ovation, soaking in the noise of a stadium that now treats him less like a manager and more like an architect of a new era.
On Saturday, when Premier League leaders Manchester City arrive at Villa Park, Emery will mark four years in the job. It already feels like a tenure carved into club folklore.
From trepidation to total belief
The mood on Wednesday night could not have been further from the unease that hovered over Villa in late summer. A raft of high-profile departures, a stuttering start, and the nagging question: had the magic run out?
Against Viking, the answer was emphatic.
Villa’s 3-1 win made it three victories from three in the Champions League and extended their remarkable run to 12 straight European home wins under Emery. For a spell, they even sat alone at the top of the group-stage standings, until Peter Christiansen’s late goal for the Norwegians left them level on nine points with Paris St-Germain, Liverpool, Real Madrid and Real Betis.
The scoreline followed a 6-0 demolition of Fenerbahce at Villa Park and a gritty 1-0 success at Newcastle United. The slow start that has become a quirk of Emery’s Villa – almost a ritual before the transfer window closes – has given way to something far more familiar: control, conviction, and a sense of inevitability at home.
That felt a distant prospect when the scale of the summer exodus became clear. Six members of the starting XI that beat Freiburg 3-0 in Istanbul to win last season’s Europa League – Villa’s first European trophy since lifting the European Cup 44 years earlier – departed. Emiliano Martinez, Lucas Digne and Youri Tielemans moved on. So did Ollie Watkins, Ezri Konsa and Morgan Rogers, the latter two joining Arsenal and Chelsea for a combined £172m as Villa banked around £320m in total.
Those players had delivered the Europa League crown and a return to the Champions League. Stripping that core away invited risk. It also demanded Emery start again.
A rebuild in fast-forward
The early weeks were brutal. A 4-0 hammering at Brighton, all four goals conceded before half-time. A 1-0 home defeat to Arsenal. A goalless draw at Hull City. Then a 2-1 loss to Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. Emery’s methods were not in doubt among supporters, but the table made for ugly reading.
The turning point came at Spurs. Villa’s first league win of the campaign loosened the tension, and from there, the familiar Emery pattern returned: structure tightened, new signings clicked, and results followed. Fenerbahce were swept aside. Newcastle were edged out. Viking were handled with authority.
What will encourage Emery most is not simply the results, but who is driving them.
Villa spent around £280m in the window. Already, it looks like money placed in the hands of the right man.
Against Viking, 20-year-old Brazilian winger Alysson lit up Villa Park. Signed from Gremio in January in a deal that could rise to £10.4m, he tore at Viking’s left side with relentless pace and direct running. His finishing still needs polish, but his impact was undeniable. He won the penalty converted by Emiliano Buendia for Villa’s second, then ended another surging break with a low cross that Henrik Heggheim turned into his own net for the third.
On the opposite flank, 18-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye, a £47m recruit from Paris Saint-Germain, showed flashes of why Villa pushed so hard to sign him. Already a World Cup goalscorer with Senegal – he found the net in a 3-1 defeat by France at the 2026 tournament, becoming the youngest African player to score at a men’s World Cup – he looks like half of a terrifying future wing partnership.
Behind them, new goalkeeper Zion Suzuki carried himself with the calm of a veteran. The 24-year-old Japan international, brought in from Parma for £30m to replace cult hero Martinez, has not tried to mimic his predecessor’s personality. Instead, he has imposed his own strengths: sharp handling and, crucially, an outstanding range of short and long passing that adds a new layer to Villa’s build-up.
In midfield, Joao Gomes, signed for £38m from Wolverhampton Wanderers, brought bite and balance. His energy and aggression against Viking offered a glimpse of how he can anchor Emery’s next great Villa side.
Up front, the solution to losing Watkins to Al-Hilal came from Emery’s own contacts book. Nicolas Jackson, who worked under him at Villarreal, arrived from Chelsea for £65m. Five goals already suggest this is a reunion with purpose rather than nostalgia.
And then there is Johan Manzambi. The 21-year-old Swiss midfielder, a breakout star at the World Cup, joined from Freiburg for just over £50m, a move that left Newcastle United and Eddie Howe empty-handed and reportedly devastated. Manzambi scored on his full debut in the win at Spurs, then compounded Newcastle’s frustration by hitting the winner at St James’ Park. He is a doubt for the City game, and that alone says plenty about how quickly he has become central to Emery’s plans.
Old heartbeat, new pulse
For all the upheaval, Emery has not simply cleared the decks and started again. The spine of the dressing room remains.
Captain John McGinn is still the heartbeat, driving standards and tempo. Around him, a familiar name is enjoying an unexpected renaissance. Ross Barkley, 32, scored again against Viking, his fourth of the season after a brace in the rout of Fenerbahce. Once a loanee here in 2020-21, he returned from Luton Town in July 2024 to little fanfare. Emery saw something different.
The manager’s admiration is no secret. He has spoken of Barkley’s quality, his experience, and his curious career path after leaving Chelsea. Watching him at Luton, Emery and his staff asked themselves how a player with that level of talent had drifted. Now he is being pushed hard, especially in the final third – to score, to attack the box, to use his aerial strength. The response has been exactly what Emery demands.
That demanding streak runs through everything. He drives his players relentlessly, but never less than he drives himself. The Viking game showed a coach almost crackling on the touchline, more animated than usual, energised by the challenge of renewal and by the early evidence that his new-look side can match his vision.
Emery’s Villa 2.0 meets the benchmark
Four years on from his appointment from Villarreal, Emery’s body of work at Villa is beginning to sit comfortably alongside the best of his career. Three straight Europa League titles with Sevilla, another with Villarreal, and last season’s triumph with Villa form a European record that few can touch. Even his supposedly underwhelming spell at Arsenal included a run to the Europa League final in 2019.
This is why Villa’s hierarchy, led by co-owner Nassef Sawiris, have placed such trust in him – and backed that belief with serious investment. They know what they have.
The atmosphere at Villa Park reflects it. The stadium feels aligned with the manager, fully signed up to what Emery calls “Villa 2.0”. The win over Viking only tightened that bond. As he put it, those three points filled his side with confidence. Barcelona at home, Galatasaray away, Manchester City in the league – the challenges keep coming, and Emery wants the same energy, the same noise, the same edge.
The early doubts about whether Villa could survive the loss of so many key figures have faded into the background. The old guard still set the tone. The new recruits are already shaping the future. The European nights are back, and they feel like events again.
Now comes the real test.
Manchester City, perfect in the league so far, walk into a stadium that has rediscovered its swagger and a manager who has rebuilt an entire side in a single summer without losing its soul. For Villa, and for Emery, this is no longer about proving they belong on the stage.
It is about seeing just how far this new version can go.
