Why Unai Emery will always have Aston Villa role for Emi Buendia as Premier League reveal shows

Emi Buendia has just the one Premier League goal contribution through Aston Villa's first five games of the season.

The 29-year-old is typically one of Villa's key creative outlets in Unai Emery's side.

He netted 11 times and provided nine assists in 54 total appearances in all competitions last season.

But, just as many Villa players have so far in 2026-27, the Argentine international has struggled to find his best form.

The 3-2 win over Tottenham last time out saw him enter the international break on a positive note with his first league goal of the campaign.

However, it's through his production at the other end of the pitch as to why he'll always have a place in Emery's thinking.

How good has Emi Buendia been defensively for Aston Villa?

First and foremost, Buendia's job as a versatile attacking midfielder is to pull the strings in attack.

However, Emery is the sort of manager who demands all of his players to chip in at all levels of the pitch.

Some naturally do this better than others, and Buendia is certainly in that category.

Despite the fact he's not yet found his goal contribution boots this season, the value he brings defensively is essential to Emery's tactical plans.

Per FotMob, Buendia ranks in the top 9.2 per cent of all Premier League players in his position for his nine tackles won this season.

Meanwhile, he places in the leading 11.8 per cent for his 34 defensive contributions, as well as the top 3.9 per cent for the 12.4 kilometres he's covered running.

Buendia's 26 duels won, six aerial duels won, four interceptions and 20 recoveries all place him in the top 14.5 per cent as well.

So, just how essential has his performance in this aspect been in relation to his attacking numbers this term?

Buendia is some way off his typical attacking pace this season

His work in the defensive and the more ugly sides of the game are invaluable to Emery.

Having said that, unless he soon pairs that up with goals and assists, the Villa Park faithful may begin to lose patience with him.

The good news is that there's plenty of scope for improvement this season, and if/when that arrives, he could arguably become Villa's most important player.

Per FotMob, he's only put two shots on target this term, whilst also delivering just the one successful cross and creating a mere five chances.

Buendia has also completed just 75.7 per cent of his passes, which ranks him in the bottom 25 percentile of his Premier League positional rivals.