Aston Villa's recent form under Unai Emery has been extremely impressive. Emery was the man who joined the relegation battle at Aston Villa and turned it into a fight for places in Europe, making him the most successful appointment this season of managerial bloodshed in the Premier League.
A 10-game unbeaten streak in the Premier League reaches a key moment at Old Trafford on Sunday when Villa could be fifth if they win. The first game of Emery's reign in early November was his new club's first league victory over United at Villa Park since 1995. The form since the end of February has been frank: eight wins, two draws. However, to some extent he can match his best record in English football. At Arsenal, he went undefeated in 22 matches in all competitions from late August to mid-December 2018, 14 of which were in the Premier League.
It's strange that 18 months at Arsenal have hardly been used by Emery as a benchmark in Premier League Part II. Emery feels like a different manager at Arsenal than Emery at Villa. Not only the person himself, but also perception. Previously, he followed the legendary club manager, and recently damaged goods, in a club clinging to rapidly declining status on the European stage. At the Villa, it's different. They may have one more European Cup on their shelf than Arsenal, but in the 2020s hierarchy, Villa is considered an underdog compared to the elite. It seems to suit Emery more.
There are certain parts of the person himself that have not changed. He starts his day early and ends late, displaying an amazing work ethic backed by very strong coffee. He wants housing to be built on Bodymoor Heath, the club's training base, so he can spend even more time there. He solves tactical puzzles and long team meetings are held to explain his solutions. But what is especially remarkable in his personal life is something for which he was never appreciated at Arsenal: a sense of humor.
The peculiarity of his stay at Arsenal was his solemn battles with the English language. He didn't deserve any jokes on him, including me. Fraudulent explosive bass 'b' sound in his trademark "Good Evening" The salute was ironed out long before he left Arsenal. At Villa, he made communication his forte. There are still words that threaten to overwhelm his flow as effectively as a full press, but he tends to struggle. improved his communication since Arsenal. Photo: DAVID KLEIN/REUTERS
Team meetings have shown a willingness to overcome difficult English words and problematic opponent names with the enthusiasm shown in this regard by the late great Sir Bobby Robson. Emery went to his first press conference at Arsenal in May 2018 speaking in a language he was not fully familiar with and was rightly praised for it. In the next 18 months, the struggle sometimes undermined him. When the Arsenal fans sang for him to wave, he stood on the touchline, oblivious. Not necessarily the most important aspect of a coach's assignment, but when it came to an end, he came to be seen as one of the symbols of a broken relationship.
Emery won against Villarreal between Arsenal and Villa. became the first European trophy, broke his unbeaten streak record, turned down Newcastle United and greatly improved his communication in English. He already had three Europa League titles with Sevilla. His status as a leading managerial talent was undeniable. But to return to the scene of notable failure, this speaks of real steel.
Villa's hierarchy has always believed that their team is better than ever under Steven Gerrard. There was a sense of not achieving what the club considered a team worthy of at least the top eight. No doubt Gerrard was entitled to some players, but Emery's performance this season seems to have won that argument. The improvement in results coincided with the absence due to injury of the highest paid Philippe Coutinho, who rarely starts under Emery, even when he was in good shape.
Now the question is what Emery can build in Season 2. In his first match for Arsenal, he finished fifth and reached the Europa League final, but he was never given the resources or license to rebuild as ruthlessly as his successor Mikel Arteta was allowed to. Over £300m has been spent to turn Arteta's Arsenal into title contenders — both in signing contracts and paying off unwanted contracts. Arteta was authorized to get rid of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at any cost. During Emery's time, Arsenal could not even switch to Shkodran Mustafi.
Emery is known for working hard at the training ground. Photo: NEVILLE WILLIAMS/ASTON VILLA FC
This was only a small part of the chaos that engulfed Arsenal in the immediate aftermath of Wenger's victory. It was Laurent Koscielny's pre-season strike, Mesut Ozil's saga, Granit Xhaka's saga, car theft saga, the exit of older locker room voices like Petr Cech and Aaron Ramsey. It turns out that Arteta came to the same conclusions as Emery regarding Nicolas Pepe and Lucas Torreira. Even Kieran Tierney is no longer the best choice. Of the Arsenal team that started against City on Wednesday, no one was signed in the Emery era.
Perhaps Emery's months at Arsenal will become the subject of some revisionism over time. So far, he's latched on to every short-term win available to any mid-season skydiving coach. He works hard on the training ground. He improved his players as individuals and did a good job of motivating them as a group. But no one would blame him for approaching summer at the end of his first season with caution.
At Arsenal, that was the beginning of the end. He was in charge of the team, but he never felt like he was in charge of a club going through turbulent change. The villa has two very wealthy and ambitious owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Experience will tell Emery that he will have to make sure their vision matches his own. He definitely deserves the right to do it his way.
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