![[Jason Burt, The Telegraph] Unai Emery has turned Aston Villa into everything he wanted at Arsenal. The Spaniard has a level of control he was not afforded at the Emirates, and could now draw level with former club with victory on Tuesday.](https://www.eucup.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/g5fCubFfTKlum8Di0cVI76bydWd-XvDXxkZ1tuguCcQ-1024x576.jpeg "[Jason Burt, The Telegraph] Unai Emery has turned Aston Villa into everything he wanted at Arsenal. The Spaniard has a level of control he was not afforded at the Emirates, and could now draw level with former club with victory on Tuesday.")
The relevant part of the article
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For Emery it is a fixture that sets him up not as an underdog, a role he has thrived in throughout his career, but as a rival. The perception of the Spaniard is that he revels at clubs just outside the elite – Sevilla, Villarreal and now Villa – and struggles at those with the expectation that they should be in it – Arsenal, Paris St-Germain.
The theory is that his style of football and style of management, plus his own demeanour, is more suited to that status.
It is a perception he rejects. He wants to be at the top. He wants to be at a big club. But it is the perception he had at Arsenal, where the legacy is that he was a dismal failure as the man who succeeded Arsène Wenger in May 2018 but was sacked just 18 months later.
What happened hurt even more for Emery because Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson are the two managers he admires most in English football – and not least because of the power and level of control they exerted at such huge clubs in Arsenal and Manchester United.
It is a level of control that Emery craves and demands, and which the 54-year-old feels is his best way of working. Maybe his only way of working. He is an obsessive. It is joked that Villa may as well be renamed Unai Emery FC, so widespread is his attention to detail and reach from the training ground at Bodymoor Heath – where he even approves the menus in the players’ canteens – to Villa Park and a direct link to the club’s billionaire owners, Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens. Emery is involved in everything.
He has also been able to do something that he felt he was prevented from doing at Arsenal, and that is surround himself with trusted, hand-picked Spanish staff.
by TheBiasedSportsLover
9 Comments
As an arsenal fan he wasn’t backed at all in the market he wanted zaha and they gave him Pepe. If villa give him the keys he could take them anywhere. Top coach.
Emery has been excellent at Villa and I’m happy for him – but he was a disaster at Arsenal.
The idea he failed at arsenal is hilarious. His record there is better than arteta.
Still (like emi) their problem and our victory. They aren’t exactly struggling with less impressive options they now have
Not sure why people need to try and compare it to his time at Arsenal. You can still be a good manager and have bad moments. Emery has been quality at Sevilla and Villa, but he wasn’t close to that at PSG or Arsenal.
Emery is a Very savvy football coach imo
Unai emery has always been a good coach, he did wonders at sevilla, 3 consecutive Europa leagues is fantastic, he did win thing with PSG and even with arsenal he lead them to their first international final in years and the last international final that arsenal has played yet.
Idk if they could win the PL but surely Villa have lots of possibilities to win the europa league this season
Dude hasn’t been at Arsenal for over half a decade, and people still compare him to arteta. Don’t get it
Assenal sacked him for Arteta?
😂
As Arsenal fan – My take – can be different than others. Emery is a good coach. He has one of the best footballing brains there is in modern football. That is why he spends time on watching videos and getting his team to watch videos and guidelines to push that (something common at his time in Arsenal). He has a great brain to coach his team to improve , define a clear playing style and find and exploit a weekends of opposition that others can’t find. That’s why he is great in cup competition because he can exploit weakness very well and grind out results. While he may keep his team and formation similar if not same – his strategy changes every game depending on opposition – again great in cup competitions. The problem with such approach is that you need a complete 100% commitment from all 11 players of the team – to align to his vision and his opponent specific approach – every game. In Arsenal (and probably psg) where he gets big players with big egos it becomes difficult and hence from time to time his strategies falter. I remember clearly those Arsenal games where we were playing different game to game but creating chances just not finishing.
When he starts with smaller teams like villa sevilla etc – there are less ego clashes and team does 100% what he says and grind out results – that’s the difference. And that is what is shining right now he has players who listen to him , trust him and are developed by him. He will always shine in such scenarios. Put him in a team with big players big egos- he will struggle unless he has full support of board to hire and fire – which he didn’t have at his time at Arsenal. Put him in a team where players listen to him – the ones not listening he is allowed to move on and get his own replacements / he will shine.
Even though his time at Arsenal isn’t remembered fondly – I really like him as a coach. If the board supported him as much as Arteta gets – he would have succeeded at Arsenal too. Just the pressure was too high. Love Arteta also though – nothing against him too.