Unai Emery joins unwanted Premier League club record as Aston Villa crisis starts to unfold
Aston Villa's shocking start to the season continued on Saturday with yet another goalless performance against Everton at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Villa's 0-0 draw against Everton saw another uninspiring performance, with Unai Emery thanking Emi Martinez for his stellar performance against the Toffees.
Aston Villa have been lacking fluency in the final third all season, and Emery has now set an unwanted record at the club.
Aston Villa join four goalless clubs in Premier League history
The tough start to the season has left the club staring down the barrel of an unwanted record.
Aston Villa became the fifth team to have failed to score in their first four Premier League games of a season. They haven't converted any of their 40 shots in the Premier League so far.
The other four teams were:
- Sheffield Wednesday (1993/94)
- Newcastle United (2005/06)
- Swansea City (2011/12)
- Crystal Palace (2017/18)
Villa have played some of the best attacking football in the league over the last few seasons, finishing fourth and seventh in Emery's first two full seasons.
Ollie Watkins has put up incredible goalscoring numbers for the club since joining in 2020, yet Emery needs to find another solution with the striker not getting much service at the moment.
| Season | Goals scored |
| 2020/21 | 16 |
| 2021/22 | 11 |
| 2022/23 | 16 |
| 2023/24 | 27 |
| 2024/25 | 17 |
The over-reliance on Watkins over the past few years is starting to show, and Emery might need to turn to new signings for a solution.
Deadline day signing Harvey Elliott could be the answer to Villa's attacking woes, with the midfielder in line to start his first game on Tuesday.
Luckily for Aston Villa, no one in that unwanted club of four teams was relegated in the season they failed to score in their opening four games.
However, there's no doubt that there are signs of a goalscoring crisis developing in the West Midlands that Emery needs to nip in the bud sooner rather than later.
Harvey Elliott must start as Villa look to exact revenge in Brentford
A trip to Brentford in the third round of the EFL Cup awaits, as Villa look to avenge their 1-0 defeat to Brentford.
Elliott can play as an attacking midfielder or on the right wing, with Villa in desperate need of a shake-up at the front end of the pitch.
Having joined from Liverpool for £35m plus add-ons, Elliott has always been extremely talented, dating back to his days at Fulham.
He is currently the Premier League's fourth youngest player to feature in the competition, initially breaking the record in 2019.
There's no doubt that Villa have a gem on their hands, and with creativity an issue at the moment, Emery will surely turn to him for Tuesday night's clash.
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