Villa and Chelsea have conducted several major deals in recent seasons, with players, coaching staff and significant transfer fees moving between the two clubs.
The latest exchange has been particularly striking. Chelsea have paid £117 million to sign Morgan Rogers from Villa, while Nicolas Jackson has moved in the opposite direction in a deal that could rise to £65 million. Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho has also joined Villa from Chelsea on loan with a conditional obligation to buy.
Emiliano Martínez is another notable departure, with Chelsea agreeing a £7.5 million deal for the Argentine goalkeeper after he again expressed his desire to leave Villa Park.
The Rogers transfer set a new record for a British player, highlighting the scale of the business between the clubs.
Austin MacPhee, Villa's former set-piece coach and one of three members of Emery's core staff to depart during the summer, has also joined Chelsea.
But Emery insists the frequency of those transactions should not be mistaken for goodwill between the clubs.
“Good relations? The relationship is only through the deals – for money, for other players,” he said.
The Villa boss went further, describing the clubs as enemies on the pitch despite their willingness to negotiate with each other away from it.
“They want to kill us. And we want to kill them … it is not a good relationship. Of course, because we have good players and we can as well sign players from them, but it’s not a good relationship, it’s a deal for money and a deal for players.
“And they will want to kill us. They are signing Morgan, they are signing Emiliano Martínez to kill us … I am happy for Emiliano Martínez, I am happy for Morgan Rogers and, of course, I know I am not happy for Chelsea.”
The relationship between the clubs has developed significantly over the past few seasons. Villa signed Axel Disasi on loan from Chelsea last year before completing a permanent £37.5 million move for Ian Maatsen in 2024.
Earlier deals saw Carney Chukwuemeka and Omari Kellyman move from Villa to Chelsea, with Chukwuemeka now at Borussia Dortmund and Kellyman at Strasbourg.
Despite the considerable transfer activity between the clubs, Villa have arguably enjoyed the stronger sporting trajectory in recent seasons.
The Birmingham side will compete in the Champions League for the second time in three seasons, while Chelsea failed to qualify for European competition last season.
Villa's immediate priority, however, is to recover from a disappointing start to the campaign.
Emery's side suffered a heavy 4-0 defeat away to Brighton and will host Arsenal on Monday, with the manager demanding a significantly improved performance.
New arrivals Jackson, Leon Goretzka and goalkeeper Zion Suzuki could make their Villa debuts as Emery continues to reshape his squad.
“I know we must rebuild the team,” Villa’s manager said.
“We will need time. But we must compete on Monday. We needed to compete last Sunday in Brighton but we didn’t compete. We are working every day as fast as possible to be ready, everybody.”
Emery backs Arsenal for major honours
Despite preparing to face Arsenal, Emery has backed his former club to challenge for the biggest prizes this season.
The Spanish coach spent 18 months in charge of Arsenal before being replaced by Mikel Arteta, who has now overseen the club for seven consecutive years.
Emery believes Arteta's sustained work, combined with Arsenal's growing financial strength and squad quality, makes them favourites for both the Premier League and Champions League.
“Arsenal are the favourites,” the Basque said.
“Arsenal, looking at the team with Arteta there seven years in a row, are getting better and better and are investing more and more. They are getting bigger and bigger as a club with the players they can sign.
“Arteta is doing a fantastic job. Arsenal are the favourites to win the Premier League and to win the Champions League. I like watching them a lot.”
Emery eager for transfer window to close
The Villa manager also admitted that the prolonged transfer window had complicated his preparations for the new season, particularly because the club had to contend with offers for important players while simultaneously attempting to strengthen the squad.
Martínez and Ollie Watkins have both left the club for Al-Hilal, meaning six members of the Villa starting XI from their Europa League triumph in May have departed during the summer.
Emery said the scale of the changes had made it difficult to establish consistency and build a settled team ahead of the new campaign.
“It doesn’t make sense to finish the transfer window on 1 September, and maybe for some teams like us, it’s more difficult, because when they are coming, more changes than normal, of course we are struggling to build a team to compete at the beginning of the season,” he said.
The Villa boss said he was eager for the window to close so that he could finally concentrate on developing a settled squad.
“This year again I am wishing to finish the transfer window on 1 September and close the squad with the players I want.”
With the transfer market nearing its deadline, Emery's challenge is now to turn a dramatically reshaped Villa squad into a competitive side capable of handling domestic pressure and another demanding Champions League campaign.