When Aston Villa all but ended Arsenal‘s Premier League title chances last April, the general consensus was that Unai Emery had out-coached Mikel Arteta. It was a master class in ruthless counter-attacking.
For the second season running, the Villans have delivered a seismic blow to Arsenal’s domestic ambitions and once again, Emery’s tactical acumen was pivotal to their success.
As much as Arsenal threw this game away, Villa have the individual quality to hurt anyone. On Saturday, Youri Tielemans took it upon himself to drag them back into a contest that looked all but lost.
The Belgian instigated the fightback with a brilliant – and brave – diving header from a pinpoint Lucas Digne delivery after making a determined, driving run into the box.
And he was desperately unlucky not to equalise less than two minutes later with a clever curling shot through the defender’s legs that smacked the base of the post.
Tielemans kept popping up in dangerous areas not only as he was the nearest Villa player to Ollie Watkins, deployed as a No 10 of sorts, but because he is smart and has an acute awareness of where the space is.
Mauricio Pochettino once described Christian Eriksen as “the brain of Tottenham”. Tielemans is the brain of Aston Villa.
Throughout his time in England, first with Leicester and now at Villa, Tielemans has predominantly played as a deep-lying playmaker. His stats at the Emirates underlined his new role: he had three of Villa’s eight shots and completed just 60 per cent of his passes.
Playing further forward, he is expected to take more risks on the ball. One of his unsuccessful passing attempts was a raking long-distance effort along the floor that would have been one of the passes of the season had Jurrien Timber not stepped in to intercept it. Watkins would have been clean through on goal.
This is a relatively new ploy from Emery and evidently one that is working. He has picked Tielemans further forward in five of Villa’s last six Premier League games having previously utilised him further back. Villa have earned 10 out of a possible 15 points in that period.
Emery even opted to keep Tielemans high up the pitch when Amadou Onana had to go off injured at the end of the first-half, using Melayro Bogarde – a natural defender – as one of the two defensive midfielders instead, alongside Boubacar Kamara.
Youri Tielemans heads home from Lucas Digne's cross to pull one back for Villa!
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— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) January 18, 2025
Tielemans is far from the most high-profile player in Villa’s squad. Much more is said and written about Watkins and his goals, Morgan Rogers’ exciting potential, Emi Martinez’s wonder-saves and Jhon Duran’s super-sub heroics.
But only one Villa player has started all 28 of their combined Premier League and Champions League fixtures this season and it’s none of the aforementioned stars: it’s Tielemans. The first name on his manager’s teamsheet. An under-rated cog in the claret machine.
Rogers has been brilliant as a ball-carrying second striker and was far less effective out wide on Saturday. Tielemans provides a completely different option in that position, offering more poise than power. He’s a silky-smooth operator who makes difficult tasks appear easy.
There will be occasions when Rogers’ barnstorming bursts are better suited to the opponent and/or game state and others where Tielemans’ timing and composure are more useful.
Either way, it gives Emery more flexibility in the final third, making Villa more unpredictable as a result.
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