ASTON Villa can do a lot of things right in the coming years. Indeed, they already are. But trying to close the gap on English football’s elite is an unforgiving task, and one that isn’t getting any easier by the season.
Precisely how far they can go is, unfortunately, just as likely to be determined by external events as anything they can do themselves. Such is the might of the teams ahead of them, last season’s seventh-place finishers have a lot to contend with, even if they’re doing plenty to drive their own rise. Merely staying where they are won’t be easy.
In the present, Villa find themselves in the space of trying to continually add to their arsenal, in the hope that eventually – when added together – it will be enough to take them to gates of the top four and beyond. If you are to take the ambitious route, though, then there are certain pieces that you need in place to be able to compete with the best.
The Villans have an excellent manager in Unai Emery, one of Europe’s most revered sporting directors in Monchi, and have invested in their squad to an increasingly good level. From that strong foundation come the on-pitch elements that take care of Villa’s present, where they’ve seen existing players hit new levels and new introductions lift the quality of the team.
More so than mere quality, however, what we’re beginning to see from Emery’s side is the blooming of specific relationships within the team. And in the form of Ollie Watkins and Moussa Diaby, Villa now have an attacking partnership that is clicking and performing in a way that few can rival. Just like the rest of the best.
Only two teams have scored more goals than Aston Villa (19) in the Premier League this season – a fact that is owed large in part to the work of Watkins and Diaby. Excluding own goals and penalties, 11 of Villa’s 16 other goals this term have either been scored or assisted by one of the two. And while the Frenchman has five direct goal involvements in his eight games, Watkins’ tally of eight is better than everyone in the Premier League, bar Erling Haaland and Mohamed Salah (nine each).
That two attacking players are performing well for Villa isn’t just a case of a couple of talented footballers hitting form at the same time – or in the case of Diaby, making a good initial impression in English football. At the head of Aston Villa’s 4-4-2, they are already playing with a synergy that drives performance in each other, and the threat of both individuals in itself is heighted by the presence of the other. Watkins and Diaby have created 14 chances between themselves in the Premier League this season; the most of any duo.
Perhaps the most promising aspect of the stat is that the 14 chances are perfectly split, with Diaby setting Watkins up seven times and vice versa. As two players who have often played as out-and-out wingers during their careers, there is a flexibility to their play that makes them a nightmare to contain for opposition defences – and it’s all part of Emery’s plan.
The starting line-up might say two up front with Diaby and Watkins, but it resembles nothing like the stereotype of an English side playing 4-4-2 in practice. Unai Emery has fine-tuned the team to morph into different shapes depending on the game situation, and in the case of his strike pair, that means plenty of freedom to mix up central positions with those out wide. Particularly for Diaby – who is much more of a natural winger than Watkins – his role allows him to retain many of the best parts of his game, while also benefitting from appearing in central areas and acting as a support striker. Though his style of play still resembles that of a fleet-footed winger most of the time, having him alongside Watkins in the 4-4-2 for when Villa can recover the ball turns them into a serious threat in transition.
The result has turned Emery’s men into a team who can attack in a variety of ways, and with Watkins and Diaby being the ones who strike at the sharp end. Both players are constantly live threats, regardless of whether Villa are in or out of possession, and whether the pair have the ball at their feet or not. One only need look at their 6-1 win over Brighton to see the damage that they’re capable of, in a game where they had just 38% possession.
Unai Emery’s primary idea is to have the ball and control the game from there, but courtesy of their current ‘front two’, the Villans look like a team who can be a threat across all phases of a match. Indeed, no team have had more direct attacks* than Villa (24) in the Premier League this season, after ranking 17th in that particular metric in the Premier League last term. With Diaby now on the scene, they pack a real punch when the opposition are stretched.
All in all, there’s no guarantee precisely where Aston Villa are heading, or just how far they might be able to go. But for the resources they’ve acquired and the chemistry they’re building on the pitch – led by one of the league’s most dynamic attacking pairs – they’re certainly not leaving anything to chance.
*Direct Attacks: The number of open play sequences that starts just inside the team’s own half and has at least 50% of movement towards the opposition’s goal and ends in a shot or a touch in the opposition box.
