Emery: We must keep going forward

FixturesAston Villa Vs. Arsenal - Mon, Aug 31 2026, 20:00Unai Emery felt there were positives to take from Monday night’s clash against Arsenal at Villa Park. There was little to choose between Aston Villa and the reigning champions in a Premier League game decided by Bukayo Saka just before the hour mark. Emery walked away disappointed with the outcome but heartened by what he saw from his team.“There were very positive things – not the result. Of course, it’s painful when we are losing and we’re not happy,” he said. “We must keep going forward and move on with the very good news we can have. Today I think we competed fantastically collectively, tactically as well the team responded fantastically. This is the way. “Individually, we added some players for their debuts, really playing fantastic and feeling comfortable, like Suzuki and Jackson. As well, the players who were here last year showed their capacity to take more responsibility playing, for example Ross Barkley. “John McGinn, like always, was being the leader we need. We must add more players – Goretzka, João, Aaron, Garnacho, Manzambi is coming back from injury. “We can feel optimistic but we’ve lost the first two matches and we don’t have those six points. We must be very, very demanding and very, very consistent in how we want to build again, or rebuild the team like we did last year to get our squad as strong as possible.“Today, the best news we can have or feel is how we competed.” Following a summer of ins and outs, Villa are in the process of building chemistry and forming new relationships across the team. Emery was thankful for the support of the Villa Park crowd as they played out their home opener, and vowed that his side will continue working hard to improve. He said: “Villa Park is always our fortress and we should feel comfortable and confident here to achieve our good fit here, collectively and individually. “With the energy we can create here, like we created today, and the supporters they transmitted their wishes, their push, their energy. “We lost but we were competing. We showed this is the way that we should build the team in the next weeks, months and years.”