Soccer
Unai Emery feels Aston Villa took a “step forward” in Monday’s 1-0 loss to Arsenal, even if they are yet to pick up a point, score a goal or have a shot on target in the Premier League this season.
Bukayo Saka’s 59th-minute strike was decisive at Villa Park, where Emery’s side were much improved from their chastening 4-0 loss at Brighton but struggled in front of goal.
Emiliano Buendia’s 12th-minute piledriver – which cannoned off the top of the crossbar – was their best attempt as they missed the target with all seven of their shots.
They only generated 0.31 expected goals to Arsenal’s 1.05 – 0.57 of which came from Saka’s goal.
They are just the second team on record (since 2003-04) to not have a shot on target in their first two games of a Premier League season, after Swansea City in 2017-18, who went on to be relegated.
But Emery feels there were positives to take from their display, with a trip to newly promoted Hull City their next test on Saturday.
“We lost, but I think we competed well. We are trying to rebuild the team, but there were a lot of positive things after the result,” Emery told Sky Sports.
“We didn’t create clear chances but we didn’t concede clear chances. It was so equal, the match.
“Some players made their debuts, they were fantastic. [Zion] Suzuki and [Nicolas] Jackson both did very good work. It’s the first step forward… I think today is positive for the next matches.
“To lose the match is painful, but afterwards, we must try to get positive things. This is the reason I am being optimistic.
“There are 38 matches, we played two matches and didn’t achieve points, but hopefully we can get better.”
0 – Aston Villa are the first team to finish in the top-four of the top-flight (4th in 2025-26) and then lose their first two games of the following season without scoring since QPR in 1976-77.
Uncommon. pic.twitter.com/DrVU6hy6zR
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) August 31, 2026
Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbaye and Southampton centre-back Taylor Harwood-Bellis both watched Monday’s game from the stands as they edge closer to joining Villa prior to the closure of the transfer window on Tuesday.
Emery said of that duo: “I don’t know if it’s official, hopefully we can close everything.
“We did a fantastic job in the last three years. Now, with a new chapter, we’ll try to rebuild the team as fast as possible.”
Having seen Ollie Watkins join Al-Hilal last week, Emery threw Jackson in for an immediate debut following the striker’s arrival from Chelsea, while Tammy Abraham came off the bench as Villa hunted an equaliser.
And Emery revealed Abraham has chosen to fight for his place at Villa Park despite receiving interest from elsewhere.
“We have one striker, Nicolas Jackson, we are very happy with him, and a young striker, Brian Madjo, he is injured but we are hoping he can contribute,” he said.
“And Tammy Abraham, his decision is to stay here. And, of course, we had both possibilities, for him to stay or leave. We opened the door for him, but he decided to stay.”
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