'Really amazing' - Unai Emery name-drops Arsenal and Brighton in surprise admission

Unai Emery is one of the greatest Premier League head coaches in his own right but that doesn’t mean the Spaniard doesn’t have inspirations of his own.

Currently eighth in the English top flight with Aston Villa and through to the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League, Emery is doing a remarkable job. The Villans were in a relegation scrap when he took over in October 2022 but they’ve since reached a UEFA Europa Conference League semi-final and finished in the Premier League top four.

There aren’t many managers with better attention to detail than Emery. The man lives and breathes football, analysing his team’s performances in immense detail before and after every match. Fixture congestion is never an excuse to skip his tasks as Emery aims for perfection in all his work, always sculpting towards the tactical idea and structure he yearns for.

You’d think there wouldn’t be any time left to appreciate the work other clubs and managers are doing but as is Emery’s adoration for football that he finds moments to do so. In a recent interview with Sky Sports, the 53-year-old spoke of his family’s obsession with football as four generations have played in the game at a professional level. Such infatuation for the sport has certainly filtered down and the tactical side of the game was always of great interest even when Emery was a player.

When asked which managers’ styles he appreciates in the present day, Emery made very little hesitation. “It is really amazing how many ways we can identity in football but be different,” he began.

“I appreciate a lot for example here in England of course, last year how they were playing Brighton with De Zerbi. This year a lot Bournemouth with Iraola. The development in Arsenal as well with Arteta, tactically and mentally his management is very interesting.

“My first coach was Guardiola, now he is struggling a little bit but he’s the best coach I’ve ever known in my career. Liverpool now with a new coach are playing very well, they were being successful with Klopp but with a new coach they are being successful but with a different tactical idea. This is very interesting, how you can adapt quick with the players when they were being successful for a different coach in Klopp. These are my examples.”

It’s not just other managers in English football Emery can identify with as he’s fascinated by the different tactical styles implemented across various countries and cultures.

“I like to identify, to watch different coaches and different tactical ways. I am watching my team and my opponents, analysing. It’s really fantastic, wow. In different countries, especially from my perspective how they play in Europe. It’s fantastic to watch their football culture.

“For example, in Italy they play a lot of teams with three centre-backs and two full-backs. In Germany, there are a lot of teams playing with the tactical idea of man-to-man. It’s really amazing how many ways we can identify.”