Unai Emery outlines 'clear challenge' as Aston Villa aim to start another winning run

Villa won 11 straight in all competitions before being blown away 4-1 in the second half of Tuesday’s match by the Gunners.

But while his team may have suffered 45 minutes of acute pain at the Emirates, Emery knows the bigger picture remains bright as they remain just six points off the top of the Premier League table.

Perhaps more significantly, for a club whose primary target is qualifying for the Champions League, they hold a healthy cushion inside the top-four heading into the second half of the season, after Chelsea and Manchester United dropped points against Bournemouth and Wolves respectively.  

Emery, meanwhile, took heart at how his team refused to throw in the towel at the Emirates despite the match effectively being lost midway through the second half.

“How we are with 39 points is something we must be proud of,” he said.

“Keep going. On Tuesday we played against Arsenal and in the first half we played fantastic.

“We were close to scoring and created a lot. We conceded few chances and had momentum.

“Even when we were losing the team was not giving up. We scored one goal and could have scored a second.

“Now we are thinking of Saturday and Nottingham Forest at home, watching how we are and trying to be so demanding after this defeat.”

If Villa’s response is anything like that to their previous defeat, away at Liverpool in early November, the manager will have little to worry about.

His team matched winning streaks previously set in 1897 and 1914 to thrust themselves into the title race and while Tuesday might have been seen as a reality check in some quarters, there remains half a season still to play.

There is also a home winning streak to extend. Villa have won 10 straight on home turf in all competitions, with Emery becoming just the club’s second manager since George Ramsay to achieve that feat twice.

His squad will also be stronger on Saturday thanks to the return of Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash from suspension, albeit Amadou Onana is a doubt after being forced off injured at the Emirates.

John McGinn is likely to be reinstated to the starting XI after only being on the bench at Arsenal with Emery’s biggest selection headache surrounding who out of Emi Buendia, Jadon Sancho and Donyell Malen to select in the attacking four.

“The challenge we have is clear,” said Emery. “Try to keep the same consistency, the same demands we have, being ambitious with our supporters, each match, try to, everybody, help and support everything we are doing.”