Aston Villa: Who is new manager Unai Emery? Former Arsenal head coach appointed

Unai Emery, former Arsenal manager and Europa League winner, has been chosen to lead Aston Villa after Steven Gerrard’s sacking just a few days ago.
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Unai Emery, who managed Arsenal from 2018-2019, has been appointed as Aston Villa’s new manager after the dismissal of Steven Gerrard. He will be joining the club after a successful spell in La Liga with Villareal, with whom he beat Manchester United to win the Europa League in 2021.

Aston Villa were required to activate the Spaniard’s release clause at Villareal to secure his services, which reportedly cost £5.2 million. In total, Emery spent just over two years at the Spanish club.

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This is the first time Villa have appointed a Spanish head coach in their history. Additionally, it’s also the first time they have had a foreign manager in place since Roberto Di Matteo in 2016.

Villa have had a disappointing start to the 2022/23 Premier League season, which culminated in the sacking of Steven Gerrard on October 21. However, they did pick up a huge 4-0 over Brentford at the weekend.

Can Unai Emery be the man to turn Aston Villa’s fortunes around? Here’s everything you need to know about the former PSG, Arsenal and Villareal head coach.

Who is Unai Emery?

On November 3, 1971, Unai Emery was born into a footballing family. His father and grandfather were both professional goalkeepers - his uncle was also a footballer who played professionally.

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During his playing career, Emery was an industrious, if unspectacular left midfielder. He never scored more than seven goals for any of his five clubs.

Emery played for Real Sociedad, Toledo, Racing Ferrol, Leganes and Lorca Deportiva. The latter of which, Lorca Deportiva, was also the first club he managed after retiring at the relatively young age of 32 due to a knee injury.

During his first season there, he led Lorca Deportiva to promotion in Spain’s second division. Emery’s influence on the club was apparent when they were relegated after his departure to join Almeria.

At Almeria, Emery enjoyed more managerial success as he got them promoted to La Liga, Spain’s first division. The following season, Emery achieved a very respectable eight place finish with them.

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Emery then spent four years at Valencia, achieving modest success, including a third place La Liga finish in 2010. Emery would then make an ill-fated move to Spartak Moscow, where he was sacked after six months following a derby-day demolition job at the hands of Dynamo Moscow.

Not to be discouraged, Emery returned to his native Spain and took the vacant Sevilla post as his next foray into managing. This was perhaps his biggest success - at Sevilla, he won three consecutive Europa Leagues.

His strong spell at Sevilla led him to more lucrative job offers - including one at PSG, which he promptly took. Emery won five major trophies during his time in Paris. He won the Ligue En once, the Coupe de France twice and the Coupe de la Ligue twice.

Emery was then given the unenviable task of replacing the legendary Arsene Wenger at Arsenal. It wasn’t to be for Emery in North London, as he failed to secure a Champions League spot in his first season. His next season was no better - on November 29, 2019, he was sacked after a defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt.

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Emery took a short break from managing after being fired by Arsenal - the longest break since his managerial career began. However, he returned to the game on May 23, 2020, when he was appointed by Villareal.

His reign at Villareal restored his reputation in the eyes of pundits. Not only did he win the Europa League in 2021, beating Manchester United in the final, but he would also lead Villareal to a Champions League semi final in the next season.

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