It didn’t take long for Aston Villa fans to work out just how good a coach they had on their hands when Unai Emery first walked through the doors at Villa Park.
In the wake of a less-than impressive stint from Steven Gerrard, the former Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Villarreal boss was took charge in October 2022.
He inherited a team that had no real clear identity, was struggling down the wrong end of the table, and seemed bereft of confidence.
But by the end of his first match, Emery had shown what his side of players were capable of, blowing Man United away 3-1 with only three changes from the XI that started the 3-0 defeat by Fulham that saw Gerrard out the door – and the three that missed out all came off the bench.
It was a performance that hinted at what was to come; renewed vigour, intensity that sets your enemies quaking, and a cutting edge deserving of a top four place.
While it began a chain of events that saw Villa blossom as the season went on and ultimately bore fruit in the shape of a Champions League spot for 2024-25, it did also throw up another intriguing question – why didn’t it work out at Arsenal?
This is a manager who won a French domestic treble the season before arriving at Arsenal with PSG, and picked up the Europa League trophy – his fourth – in the season after he left. There is nothing wrong with Emery’s credentials as a coach.
In north London the Emery era was characterised by fits and bursts, false dawns and ultimately flawed structures -the reality is that Arsenal were not the same club they are now, and were not ready for Emery.
Emery was inheriting the throne of Wenger, the greatest to ever manage the club, and one of English football’s all-time best.
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