What Unai Said – Arsenal 4 Aston Villa 1
“So, so proud of everything we are doing.”
The words below from Unai Emery are collated from his post-match interviews after Aston Villa’s 4-1 loss against Arsenal. New for 2026, MOMS will analyse Emery’s post-match comments and interpret them, and even score them in The Emery Index, which scores how happy he was with the performance, with it not necessarily being pinned to the actual result.
While the scoreline was heavy, the Villa boss’s message was not.
“So, so proud with the players, how we achieved, until now, 39 points, and how we are being ambitious and as well realistic.”
At day 19, Villa remain third in the Premier League. Emery acknowledged the disappointment of the night, but refused to detach it from the wider context of the season.
“Keep going. We are third in the league, the day 19.”
The Scoreline
Arsenal 4–1 Aston Villa
While visibly expressed his frustration during the game when Arsenal made it 2-0, afterwards, Emery did not dispute the result. He focused on how the game unfolded.
The Performance
“Today we did very good first half… we were competing well and even getting our momentum and creating chances.”
Villa’s opening 45 minutes were controlled and purposeful and the reaction Emery was seeking to the poor first 45 minutes in the previous game against Chelsea.
“We did not concede a lot, no corners in the first half for them.”
That detail matters. It points to structure and organisation rather than simple survival.
The shift came after the break.
“The second half, the first goal changed everything.”
What followed was compounded by disruption in midfield.
“We had as well the injury of Amadou Onana and we lost everything in the middle.”
From that point, Arsenal were able to impose themselves.
“They have the power they showed… and we finished losing.”
The Key Moment
Emery briefly addressed the opening goal.
“The first goal, how they score it maybe could be foul.”
But he immediately contextualised it. As he has already experienced while managing Villa, the Premier League is very different from how games are refereed in Europe in terms of goalkeeper contact, as Villa found out when Morgan Rogers’ late goal was ruled out against Juventus in the Champions League.
“Here in England it is more difficult because the referees they let [players] touch the keepers.”
And closed the subject without complaint.
“We must accept because it’s the same for both sides.”
Mentality Check
Despite the scoreline, Emery was clear about Villa’s response.
“But we competed fantastic… we didn’t give up.”
“We were trying to score a goal. We did one goal, one or two chances to score another one.”
Villa did not retreat into damage limitation. The behaviour remained competitive.
Form and Perspective
Asked about Villa’s 11-game winning run coming to an end, Emery was unsentimental.
“Football is now. Football is now, how we are now.”
“Everything we did was fantastic.”
The past record-equally run and momentum was acknowledged, not protected.
“Try to analyse today and the players we have.”
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Squad Development
Even in defeat, Emery pointed to progress. He admitted with the game lost, he wanted to use the rest of the game to blood Villa’s youngsters.
“The debuts of some players like Jamal (Jimoh-Aloba) and George (Hemmings) is really fantastic.”
Injuries forced change. Young players were trusted. Valuable initial match experience was gained under pressure and in adversity.
No Drama
There was nothing to read into Emery heading down the tunnel quickly, with media trying to frame it as if he had stormed off.
“No, when I finish the match I am always waiting to shake hands with another coach but he was with his coaches and I can’t wait for him.”
With Mikel Arteta clearly celebrating with his staff, Emery even joked that he didn’t want to wait around due to the temperature.
“I can’t wait forever. It was cold”.
The Emery Index
7 / 10
Perspective remained intact, performance was framed structurally rather than emotionally, the team’s mentality was praised, and his forward focus was clear. Despite the margin of defeat and second-half loss of control, Emery stuck to the big picture and focused on a process-led response to a difficult night. There was clear mitigating circumstances in his mind to rationalise the defeat.
It would be fair to say that Emery wasn’t necessarily concerned about the result in isolation, as within the context of recent games – including wins against Arsenal, Manchester United and Chelsea – his team is in a very good place.
The result at Arsenal stung, but the message did not change.
UTV
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Long and short, Villa were overrun and humiliated, shown for their true class.
If Onana stayed on, we wouldn’t have been overrun. Stay classy.