Aston Villa face Paris Saint-Germain in Wednesday's UEFA Super Cup in Salzburg, looking to add a second trophy in barely three months after winning last season's Europa League final.
Emery's side head into the game following a summer of significant outgoings, with Morgan Rogers, Youri Tielemans and Lucas Digne all sold for a combined fee reported at around £150 million as the club worked to stay compliant with UEFA's financial rules. Even so, the Spaniard sees no reason for Villa to lower their sights.
"If we compare ourselves to other clubs like Man City, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool, we are competing with them. We don't have their power… yet," Emery said.
"The effort the club are making is huge. We are trying to extend Villa Park to 50,000 supporters.
"This is one step forward. We are increasing our budget through results on the pitch, sometimes selling some players, being consistent, expecting a high level and more or less keeping it. Every year the club has moved forward."
Villa will be without England pair Ezri Konsa and Ollie Watkins, plus Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, for the PSG game. All three were given four weeks off following the World Cup and are due back in training next week, leaving Emery to select from a squad already reshaped by this summer's sales.
Captain John McGinn, who has been at Villa Park since the club's Championship days in 2018, says the departures have not dented the group's ambition.
"We are really excited by the new Aston Villa," McGinn said. "Our expectation is similar to where it has been in the past few seasons, competing with the best in England and Europe. A lot is changing but we have the same manager, the same methods and a desire to achieve more. A lot of people thought we'd reached our ceiling but we've proved them wrong."
Wednesday's meeting is Villa's first appearance in the Super Cup in more than four decades, and only their second overall, following their triumph over Barcelona in the early 1980s. It also renews acquaintance with a PSG side Villa met and lost to in last season's Champions League quarter-finals, when the French club progressed 5-4 on aggregate after Villa fell 3-1 behind in the first leg in Paris.
Victory would mark a second continental honour for Emery's side inside three months and further evidence, in the manager's eyes, that Villa's rebuild under his stewardship has moved the club into different company entirely.
Villa's expanded budget from those player sales, along with continued Champions League qualification, gives Emery the platform he believes the club needs to sustain that growth beyond a single trophy-laden season.