Aston Villa's difficult start to the 2026-27 Premier League season continued on Monday night as Unai Emery's side suffered a 1-0 defeat to defending champions Arsenal at Villa Park. Bukayo Saka scored the decisive goal in the 59th minute after Riccardo Calafiori picked him out inside the box, with the England international firing into the bottom corner. Villa had opportunities to threaten, including Emiliano Buendia's effort that struck the crossbar in the first half, but Arsenal ultimately controlled 61% possession and held on for a hard-fought victory.
The result has left Villa with no points or goals from their opening two fixtures and, more worryingly for Emery, has seen his team make unwanted Premier League history in two different ways.
Aston Villa Set Embarrassing Attacking Record
Villa's biggest concern has been their lack of attacking threat.
After failing to register a shot on target against Brighton, Emery's side repeated the feat against Arsenal. That means Aston Villa have now gone through their first two Premier League matches of the 2026-27 season without registering a single shot on target.
Thus, Villa are now only the second team since the 2003-04 season to fail to have a shot on target in each of their first two Premier League games of a campaign.
The only previous team to suffer the same fate was Swansea City in 2017-18.
That is particularly alarming for a team that finished fourth in the Premier League last season and secured Champions League football. Villa were expected to compete near the top end of the table again, but their opening fixtures have instead exposed major problems in the final third.
Against Arsenal, Villa did manage to create some moments, particularly through counter-attacks and crosses late in the match. However, they were unable to properly test David Raya, who had a relatively comfortable evening as Arsenal protected their narrow advantage.
Villa Become First Top-Four Team Since 1976-77 To Suffer This Start
The second record is even more remarkable.
Villa finished fourth in the Premier League in 2025-26, earning a top-four finish and Champions League qualification. Yet they have begun the new campaign without scoring in either of their first two league matches.
That makes Aston Villa the first team to finish in the top four of the English top flight and then lose their opening two league matches of the following season without scoring since QPR in 1976-77.
It is a remarkable statistic considering Villa's achievements last season.
Instead of carrying their momentum into the new campaign, Emery's team have immediately found themselves playing catch-up. They have conceded five goals across their first two league matches while failing to score once.
The summer overhaul has clearly played a role. Villa lost several important members of last season's squad, leaving Emery with the difficult task of rebuilding while simultaneously trying to maintain the standards expected of a Champions League club.
Emery Faces Early Pressure
There is still a long way to go in the season, but the opening fixtures have given Emery plenty to address.
The 4-0 defeat at Brighton was particularly damaging, while the Arsenal match at least offered signs of improvement defensively. The problem was that Villa could not turn that improved organisation into genuine attacking pressure.
For Emery, the priority now has to be getting his new-look attack functioning quickly.
Aston Villa Must Respond Against Hull
Villa's next opportunity comes against Hull City next week, when Emery's side will be looking to get their first points and, crucially, their first goal of the new Premier League campaign.
After setting two unwanted records in their opening fixtures, Emery's Villa will hope Hull provides the perfect opportunity to turn their fortunes around.
