Villa rescued a point at the Emirates Saturday evening in match that looked to be beyond redemption after Arsenal went 2-0 to the good. The outrage-despair machine is running at full capacity, and it’s fun to be part of the Gunners’ problems for a second year running.
Despite a night that will live long in Villans’ memories, Unai Emery immediately switched his focus from Bayern Munich to Manchester United following his side’s massive 1-0 victory under the floodlights.
The extra ECL matches, plus a league run-in that isn’t easy, and we can all see why it’s a big deal that Villa have managed to get maximum points against Sheffield, Fulham, Forest, and Luton. They simply wouldn’t have gotten all 12 on offer in the past.
Over the course of five days Villa swept aside reining Conference League champions West Ham and their semifinal opponent AZ Alkmaar, each by a 4-1 scoreline. I was somehow suddenly a bundle of nerves after AZ pulled one back, so the ghosts of Villa past certainly haven’t left me. But the performances have been real.
A win’s a win, and it was an important one, but the big thing is that Villa didn’t quit. You could see the frustration, but they resisted thinking “it’s just one of those nights” when it looked for all the world that it was just one of those nights.