Aston Villa's path to glory is all that matters now

Run into the ground John, for it is what you do best. Block it all and shove it back in their face, Emiliano, for it is your way. Make the ball your message, Pau, and fly feet first forward Matty. Run, Leon, run. Unlock the puzzle of your feet, Douglas and find Ollie first. Fight, Villa, fight.

That was a fight. No denying it. It was a scrap. It wasn't as clean as Wednesday, but it feels just as good. I said it then, and I repeat it now. Bring your best to Villa Park and they stand a chance of losing - badly - against our lot.

It's not often you can say that about any club. You have to go back to the days of Queen Victoria for the last time that was 100% certain about the Villa.

Nothing is certain nowadays, but there are a few guarantees at Villa Park right now:

1 - Villa will win

2 - John McGinn will define the game with his energy and action

3 - Emi Martinez will upset someone, or many someones.

The dreadful truth about Aston Villa vs Arsenal is that it will be the biggest arena for Emi Martinez pissboiling. His shithousery knows zero bounds and obeys no rules. There's a bizarre need to win, or at least not embarrass yourself, against Arsenal just to save Martinez from himself - because against the Gunners, he starts his shift early. Today, I did not care. It was in the bag, and if not - Martinez, gilded, has proven himself outside of London. Villa, unbeaten, have proven themselves in B6.

And that's the real message post Villa v Arsenal. I simply do not care about what anyone outside of this club has to say about this team, unless they want a real dialogue and friendly chat about it. That doesn't happen online.

I used to care, and bite. I don't anymore. That's suspended because of Villa's form. I don't care now for other clubs. I don't care about the faux humiliation of a loss, or if another fanbase doesn't like a Villa player because of frivolous reason X, Y, or Z. Villa are on their own path. To be blunt, fuck the rest, their thoughts and their results.

If you're an online reader, please consider signing up to this newsletter to get it sent straight to your inbox. Thank you 👇

Not to be rude, but the path of other teams? Doesn't interest me. Not as much as it did before. Not as much as it aggravated me before. There's real things to be won by Aston Villa on the pitch.

And it's all off the back of 15 games won in a row. Drink that one in. A sequential record that is STILL running and could go to 16 and beyond. Even 10 games won in a row at home in the Premier League is unthinkable for Villa, 15 AND counting? Feck. That's madness.

Guess where it started? After Mikel Arteta and Arsenal patronised us in February, and patted us on the head while they did big club things. Since then, we've not lost a game. That fairly forgivable loss must've spun Emery's head because since then we're changed. We fought for the last European place and won, we run faster, we kick harder, we adapt, fight, and battle. Villa were bullied by Arsenal in February, today they played their own game and held their head high.

Did Arsenal deserve to win? Maybe. They're talking about the wind being the difference over on Arsenal Fan T- wait, I don't care. I'm not biting and neither are you. Not anymore, not until we've figured out where we are going. I don't care about influencers deciding that Villa are good so they can get a bit of dosh chatting biscuit about football, nor blue ticks winding up our fans so they can get a taste of Elon's bung (ew).

I've said it up top. Fuck them, and fuck the rest. Manchester City won't crown Villa with silverware. Sky Sports won't crown Villa as champions, neither will Arsenal Fan TV or six no marks sitting around a table counting down the days until one of them derails the gravy train by saying something regrettable, nor a blue tick trying to secure the bag on Twitter/X. Legia won't put the Conference League in Villa's hands, and neither will Alkmaar, Zrinjski nor Fiorentina, Fenerbahce, Klaksvik and the rest. Should it have been a penalty? Should it have been a foul? A handball? Maybe, but when these things happened to us in the past, nobody was willing to listen. Now we're unwilling to care. Shit happens, we know about it, we're now cruising. I don't disrespect any of the above, but it's not about them anymore. It's about you, me, Aston Villa, and Unai.

We're on our journey, we're moldable, and not sure what we are - but we're strong. Villa weren't at their best in February and lost to this side. Villa weren't at their best today and beat this side. There's something growing here, but something we must support as it is fragile. It's a journey to an undefined glory, and it needs you - yes you - to caretake it and show it the way. Back the club, sing your heart out, and stop responding to the bait, because there's a soft little core in the engine room chugging us towards silverware. Even Achilles was vulnerable right? But that's what made him a legend, so it goes for Unai Emery's Aston Villa.