Aston Villa chief releases furious statement ahead of blockbuster Premier League clash against Arsenal

Villa secured victory at Stamford Bridge on Saturday and must now travel to the Emirates Stadium today to face Arsenal, leaving Vidagany questioning whether the scheduling process has become unfairly weighted towards the league's traditional powerhouses.

The scheduling quirk means Villa will have faced Arsenal on two separate occasions before they even host Nottingham Forest at Villa Park on 3 January.

This unusual sequencing has left manager Unai Emery baffled, with the Spaniard publicly stating he cannot comprehend the reasoning behind such arrangements.

Vidagany, who serves as one of Emery's closest allies within football, took to social media platform X to express his frustration in far stronger terms than his manager.

The Spaniard questioned why a fixture originally scheduled for the second half of the campaign had been moved forward ahead of matchday 19, describing the lack of transparency from league officials as deeply troubling.

Vidagany wrote on X: "Totally understand our manager. Why EPL (the Premier League) brings a match day from 2nd half of season before matchday 19 has not a clear explanation. I asked to EPL people and they didn't tell us. So it is a mystery."

He continued: "The fact is that, willing or not this makes more convenient the fixtures for certain clubs that are not travelling on this very busy Christmas period. I let you take a look which clubs are playing home both last and next match.

"To make us play 2 away games in less than 72 hours will be never an excuse but we agree that is much better on the recovery side play twice at home and not travel."

He concluded: "We are not, for sure, as it is obvious, having any influence. It would be a disgrace if the fixtures become a political territory."

Premier League sources have indicated that numerous factors are considered when compiling the fixture schedule, emphasising there is no rigid formula governing how matches should be ordered.

Officials have also highlighted that the expansion of European club competitions has placed additional strain on an already congested calendar, further complicating scheduling decisions.

However, these explanations have done little to satisfy Vidagany or Emery, with the manager having previously expressed his bewilderment at the fixture arrangements.

Meanwhile, speaking ahead of the contest at the Emirates Stadium, Emery was coy when quizzed on his side's chances of winning the league.

“Dreams are free,” the Villa manager said.

“Everyone has to dream. I have my dream and I am here getting my dream.

"My huge dream here and as a coach is to win the Champions League. That is my dream, all my life.

"The level I am, my dream is still to win Champions League. I don’t know if I can have again this opportunity.

“Last year, we played quarter-finals, four years ago we played semi-finals [with Villarreal].

"In each moment, I am realistic. The only dream I have now is tomorrow’s match.

"Of course, we can analyse how we want to build the team and where we want to get to. There are a lot of ways of where we want to get. But now, there is only tomorrow [Tuesday]. After tomorrow, we will see.”