Aston Villa have emerged as darkhorses for the Premier League titleplaceholder image
Aston Villa have emerged as darkhorses for the Premier League title | Getty Images/ Canva
Emi Buendia smashed home deep into injury-time against leaders Arsenal to thrust Aston Villa into third position in the Premier League
The Lions, who have been formidable in recent months, particularly on home soil, took the lead after 36 minutes when Matty Cash opened the scoring to claim his third of the season.
Arsenal levelled through Leandro Trossard midway through the second half to set up a nervy finish, but it was Villa who capitalised on a nervy finish to the game as Emi Buendia stole the points in dramatic style with a beautiful curled strike just moments after the Gunners had threatened to score themselves through Martin Odegaard.
In the post-match interview, a dejected Mikel Arteta was asked if Villa are title contenders after the game, he responded: “They are. When you look at where they are, the way they play, they have beaten some big teams, especially at home. Everybody is going to have to play everybody, so at the moment they are where they are and we are there as well.”
Unai Emery told VillaTV: “I’m so, so happy I’m very proud how our supporters enjoyed this match. We wanted to play thinking here at Villa Park to transmit our supporters our energy, our wishes, our style, idea; playing with energy, intensity, playing football like we played.”
The former Arsenal boss, however, refused to be drawn into a conversation about his team’s title chances, commenting: “I am not thinking in it. I know 38 matches is very difficult. We are not a contender.
“If we were in day 35, perhaps we can speak differently,” he continued, before adding: “Arsenal are the best team in the Premier League until now. How we competed today gives me lots of confidence.”
Are Aston Villa in the title race?
Many Aston Villa fans feared the worst at the start of the season when the team went on a five-match streak without winning a match whilst only scoring once in the process. Many felt it was a sign that the hangover of missing out on Champions League football was still affecting the group, particularly after a challenging summer window, dominated by talk of PSR and potential player exits.
However, since beating Fulham 3-1 matchday six, Villa have been a force to be reckoned with, winning nine of their last 10 league matches while picking up 27 points from a possible 30 available, which is the most of any team during this period.
This winning run leaves Aston Villa in third and only three points behind league leaders Arsenal after well over a third of the league season. It’s a position which is fairly similar to where the Lions found themselves at this stage of the 2023/24 campaign where they ultimately finished in fourth place - 23 points behind eventual champions Manchester City.
They’ll hope to do even better this time around.
“Why not? (title contenders) In the situation they are in at the moment, three points behind a team they've just beaten. It is about keeping all the players fit and staying at these levels if they want to stay in the title race. If they do that, yes they are, without a doubt,” said Dion Dublin on Match of the Day.
Aston Villa’s next six league matches assessed
Aston Villa’s victory over Arsenal has catapulted them into the title conversation ahead of a busy run of fixtures in December. Emery’s men face West Ham United away in their next match in a fixture which takes place just three days after a Europa League showdown with FC Basel.
The West Midlands side then play host to Manchester United the following weekend before challenging away matches in the capital against third placed Chelsea and title favourites Arsenal.
Villa kick off 2026 with a home clash against strugglers Nottingham Forest before taking on the division’s current surprise package Crystal Palace, who recently jumped up to fourth position after a hard-fought 2-1 victory away to Fulham.
Aston Villa’s highest league finish of the Premier League era came in 1992/93 during Ron Atkinson’s time at the club when they eventually finished runners-up to Manchester United. Fans will be dreaming of going one better this time around.
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