Not since the 20th century have Aston Villa claimed this many points from their opening eight Premier League games. Throw in such generational Champions League wins as that over Bayern Munich this month and the mind starts to wonder just how high the ceiling might be for Unai Emery and his players.
Since losing to Arsenal at the back end of August, Emery’s team have strung together a nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions, sticking resolutely to the heels of the division’s dominant trio, while banking European memories to boot.
