As Villa soars, Unai Emery changing opinions in England

English soccer’s perceptions of Unai Emery are starting to change.

During a testing 18-month spell at Arsenal in 2018-19, Emery was placed in an almost impossible situation — the successor to longtime manager Arsene Wenger and the face of a club going through upheaval behind the scenes as it adapted to a status outside the Premier League’s title-chasing elite.

He was mocked for his tactics and, reportedly, his ability to communicate because of his broken English.

Now at Aston Villa, Emery is working more in the shadows, away from the glare and scrutiny that comes with being at one of the country’s top clubs.

Well, maybe until now.

Since the Spanish coach took charge of Villa on Nov. 1 as the replacement for Steven Gerrard, only Arsenal and Manchester City — the two teams fighting it out for the title — have collected more than Villa’s 32 points.

The team from central England has soared to seventh place and is in the running for European qualification, from being in 16th and just one point above the relegation zone when Emery took over.

“We are going to be very demanding,” Emery said after a 2-1 win at Leicester on Tuesday, Villa’s fifth victory in its last six games, “and not relax or stop.”

Fans of Spanish soccer won’t be so surprised to see Emery turning around the fortunes of Villa, one of England’s most historic clubs that has been through some lean times in recent years — including three seasons out of the Premier League from 2016-19.

After all, Emery led little Villarreal to the Europa League title in 2021 and, somewhat miraculously, the Champions League semifinals the following year.

At Sevilla, he won the Europa League in three straight seasons — an unprecedented achievement — and even with Paris Saint-Germain in France, he led the team to a domestic treble.

His most troubled times came at Arsenal, where he was perhaps the right man at the wrong time at a club that still had Wenger’s imprints all over it after the Frenchman’s 22 years as manager.

Emery’s impressive start at Villa certainly suggests that.

Chief among the successes at his new team has been getting the best out of Ollie Watkins, who has turned from a wasteful striker to a prolific one after being made the focal point of Villa’s attack.

Watkins has scored 10 goals in 17 games since Emery’s appointment, including goals in six consecutive away games — a feat not achieved since Sergio Aguero did so for Manchester City in 2017.

Emery’s faith in Watkins, who has been on the fringes of the England squad over the past year, is such that he was fine with Danny Ings leaving for West Ham in January, even though that left the squad short of a quality backup for Watkins up front.

“I like to take (on) challenges, always, with my striker, with my coaching. Because I like to be offensive and to be a winner,” Emery said.

“The striker is very important to me. I spoke with (Watkins) at the beginning about the relationship here. I told him, ‘I want the best of you’ and what he is doing — practicing, being humble to improve — this is the way.”

Other tweaks by Emery include bringing Argentine playmaker Emi Buendia into the team at the expense of Phillipe Coutinho, whose future at Villa looks increasingly uncertain. Gerrard’s indulgence of Coutinho might have been one of the big reasons for his downfall, with Buendia proving to be more hard-working and clinical in front of goal.

Villa’s shape under Emery is also so much more solid compared to the Gerrard era. That is especially seen in away games, with Villa winning six of its eight matches on its travels — including at Chelsea, Tottenham and Brighton — and losing only to Man City on the road.

With Emi Martinez, Argentina’s World Cup-winning goalkeeper, remaining a safe pair of hands and 23-year-old France international Boubacar Kamara a star in the making in midfield, Villa has quality across the team and it is being molded into a hard-to-beat unit by the humble Emery.

Above the likes of Chelsea and Liverpool and now only six points out of the top four, Villa can realistically hope for a place in Europe next season — most likely in the Europa League.

And we know how much Emery likes that competition.

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