---
title: "Emery hails Nicolas Jackson breakthrough after dramatic Villa win"
canonical: "https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/nicolas-jackson-unai-emery-aston-villa-breakthrough/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "James Chettle"
section: "Aston Villa News"
published: "2026-09-19T14:55:40Z"
modified: "2026-10-10T21:46:11Z"
---

# Emery hails Nicolas Jackson breakthrough after dramatic Villa win

Unai Emery believes Nicolas Jackson finally showed his full Aston Villa potential during Saturday’s dramatic 3-2 victory over Tottenham Hotspur.

Jackson scored Villa’s second goal in north London as Emery’s side secured their first Premier League victory of the season.

The forward had endured an uneven start to life at Villa, but his manager believes the Tottenham performance represented a significant step forward.

Speaking after the game, Emery said: “Maybe it is the first match where Jackson showed his power, because before he didn’t completely show that he understood everything we wanted from him in the previous games.”

The comments were reported by BirminghamLive journalist [John Townley](https://x.com/johntownley11/status/2101320829761904863).

> Spurs are stunned as Nicolas Jackson doubles Aston Villa's lead 😳\
> \
> 📺 Stream now on TNT Sports & HBO Max [pic.twitter.com/il7NKbgFCQ](https://t.co/il7NKbgFCQ)
>
> — Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) [September 19, 2026](https://x.com/footballontnt/status/2101296169187946532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## Emery sees Jackson improvement at Tottenham

Jackson was preferred to Tammy Abraham from the start despite Abraham scoring twice against Coventry City in midweek.

That selection decision paid off.

The striker doubled Villa’s advantage after the interval following an excellent combination with Johan Manzambi.

Jackson received the ball back from the youngster before creating space and finishing beyond the Tottenham goalkeeper.

It was one of the decisive moments in Villa’s [3-2 victory over Tottenham](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/tottenham-2-3-aston-villa-match-report/).

Emery believes the goal was part of a broader improvement.

“Today, we made a clear step forward in improving,” the Villa boss added.

“Zion is maintaining the performance he showed before, and Jackson clearly improved from the previous matches. This is the way and how he played was an example.”

That assessment mirrors our [Aston Villa player ratings against Tottenham](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/aston-villa-player-ratings-tottenham-manzambi/), where Jackson was among Villa’s standout performers.

## Training ground plan pays off for Villa

John McGinn also revealed that Jackson’s goal came from work Villa had done before the game.

The captain told TNT Sports, as relayed by [Townley](https://x.com/johntownley11/status/2101312919870832751): “The Nicolas Jackson goal, he’ll be delighted as we worked on that in training.”

That makes the goal particularly significant for Emery.

Villa had identified how they wanted to attack Tottenham before kick-off and were eventually able to execute that plan when the game opened up.

Our [pre-match analysis of Tottenham’s pressing structure](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/tottenham-rebuild-aston-villa-pressing-opportunity/) highlighted the spaces Villa could exploit if they escaped the hosts’ initial pressure.

Jackson and Manzambi did exactly that for the second goal.

## Jackson gives Emery another attacking decision

Jackson’s performance also creates further competition in Villa’s attack.

Abraham entered the game in strong form after his Coventry brace, but Emery trusted Jackson from the start.

That decision now looks significantly stronger.

The manager has already described Manzambi as a “fantastic player” despite admitting the youngster still needs to improve his positional understanding.

We have examined [the selection problem Manzambi has created for Emery](https://readastonvilla.com/2026/09/19/johan-manzambi-unai-emery-aston-villa-decision/), and Jackson has now made his own case.

Emery said Villa remain a team “in evolution” following several summer changes.

Saturday provided the clearest evidence yet that the new-look attack is beginning to understand what he wants.

For Jackson, the challenge is making Tottenham the beginning of that process rather than a one-off breakthrough.