Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has opened up on the club's challenging summer transfer window, labelling his side as "perhaps the most punished team" during a period that severely hampered their start to the campaign.
A Difficult Start and Stunning Turnaround
The Villans failed to win any of their opening six matches across all competitions and did not find the net in the Premier League until their fifth fixture, a clash against ten-man Sunderland. However, the narrative has shifted dramatically since those early struggles.
Villa have since embarked on a remarkable run of form, securing victory in 12 of their last 14 outings. This impressive sequence includes eight wins from their last nine top-flight matches, propelling them up the table.
Emery's Candid Transfer Window Assessment
Emery pointed directly to a constrained summer market as the root cause of their initial woes. The club managed to bring in five new faces, but three of those were loan deals finalised on deadline day, following the permanent arrivals of Marco Bizot and Evann Guessand.
The need to comply with UEFA's squad-cost rules also forced a significant sale, with Jacob Ramsey departing as the headline exit. Emery expressed clear frustration at the circumstances, stating the team could not spend until the final moment.
"In the August transfer window, we were perhaps the most punished team," Emery revealed. "I was so disappointed in that moment, and we were frustrated. But when we got the moment when everyone was here – we could say 'this is our season'."
Focusing on Consistency and Collective Responsibility
The Spanish coach credited the squad's collective response once the window closed and the group was settled. He emphasised a demanding standard of consistency and focus as the key to their dramatic improvement over the past two and a half months.
"The message is to focus hard. This is the only key in our process," Emery said. "The response of the players, they are the protagonists. They are showing it together with this commitment."
While Villa have the opportunity to close the gap on league leaders Arsenal to just three points this weekend, Emery has been cautious about talking up any title challenge, preferring to concentrate on maintaining their high performance levels.
He concluded by acknowledging the importance of remembering their poor start, not to dwell on it, but to use it as a reminder of the standards required. "We must remind ourselves about it – and why we were being so poor with our performances. It was clear though, the circumstances that we had."
