Analysis: Forget the table - Aston Villa are a team on the up

Unai Emery’s men will enter April in the same spot they have occupied since January 4.

But while 11th place then still offered too clear a view of the relegation battle below, the vista now is very different with the top half and the race for Europe clearly in their sights.

Talk of overhauling those above feels more justified with every passing week. Saturday’s 3-0 win over Bournemouth means Villa have taken 10 points from their last four matches with a trip to Chelsea, once more only above them on goal difference, to come after the international break and meetings with Newcastle, Brentford and Fulham to follow before April is out.

Who would have predicted this when Emery first took over a team then teetering above the drop zone at the start of November? The turnaround has been remarkable and reached a new peak in the closing stages on Saturday when a relentless Villa laid siege to the Cherries goal after Jacob Ramsey had doubled the advantage provided by Douglas Luiz’s early opener.

By the finish the only surprise was the hosts had only added one more goal, from Emi Buendia, to their tally, referee Rob Jones’ whistle bringing relief to the visitors and disappointment to the thousands busy enjoying the party. Regardless of what happens over the run-in, they are falling in love with their team once more.

Stasis in the standings means Villa’s progress is easily overlooked but only Arsenal, Manchester United and Manchester City have taken more points than the 26 they have collected since Emery’s arrival. It is impossible not to wonder what might be possible with a few quality additions in the summer transfer window.

The Spaniard’s work with the group he inherited has been impressive enough and made a mockery of the notion a manager must adapt his methods to the players at his disposal. Emery’s core gameplan has not altered from the moment he walked through the door. Clarity of thought and clear instruction means with every match and every new experience, his team edges that little bit closer to perfecting it.

Throw in the fact Emery is currently working with a depleted squad and the job looks even better. For the third match running Villa did not have enough senior players available to fill their bench, even with the inclusion of two goalkeepers.

Yet Emery and his team just get on with it, the no excuses culture they are building perhaps best epitomised on Saturday by the manner they quickly shrugged off the non-intervention of video assistant referee Stuart Attwell when Ramsey’s first half drive was deflected over the bar by the hand of Cherries centre-back Jack Stephens. Had Villa not won the match, Attwell’s decision not to award a penalty would have been a major talking point but by full-time it had been demoted to a mere footnote.

The loss of influential midfielder Boubacar Kamara to injury has, meanwhile, been mitigated by the form of John McGinn and Luiz. Emery rated the latter’s performance as his best since he took charge and it might well have been the finest of the Brazilian’s Villa career to date.

That Luiz was a player of considerable potential had not been in question from the moment he curled a 25-yard effort into the top corner against the same opponents on his home debut. The frustration, in the following three-and-a-half years, had been his lack of consistency yet under Emery he is finally finding his groove and the fact he was able to deliver a performance of such quality without Kamara at his side was also significant.

It was Luiz who put Villa ahead when he tapped home Leon Bailey’s low cross, having also started the move. He also contributed to the other two goals, first with a chipped free-kick which Ollie Watkins nodded into the path of Ramsey and then with a trademark whipped corner which Tyrone Mings flicked on for Buendia to nod home from close range. Otherwise, he was pretty much everywhere, breaking up play and frequently the accelerant when Villa, again content to be patient in possession before quickly upping the tempo, moved through the gears.

Bournemouth had their moments but Emi Martinez was only once required to show serious athleticism when he parried a well-struck Philip Billing free-kick over the bar. Dominic Solanke then should have done better after ghosting in behind Ezri Konsa but a moment’s hesitation was it all it required for Mings to arrive on the scene and block his shot behind.

This was Villa’s second straight home clean sheet and their fifth in total under Emery. Since conceding 11 times in a three-match losing streak last month, their defence has been breached just once in four games and even that was due to the award of a contentious penalty in a 1-1 draw at West Ham. Mings has been at the heart of the improvement and while many focused understandably on Watkins’ omission from the England squad, the towering centre-back should also count himself a little unfortunate not to receive a call.

The good news for Villa is that neither man has taken the snub to heart, judging by Saturday’s evidence. Under Emery, the future for them and Villa only looks bright.