Unai Emery has now officially been at Aston Villa for 366 days, taking his time at the club to over a year. The rapid impact the former Arsenal and Sevilla manager has had is nothing short of exceptional as the Villans have gone from relegation fighters to European contenders.
Not only that, but Villa Park feels like it has been reborn under the new boss, with an incredibly strong connection between the players and supporters. There’s a good reason behind Villa’s recent 11 consecutive Premier League home wins – it certainly isn’t a coincidence.
Something that has played into Emery’s favour during his tenure so far is the lacklustre performances of some of the other big clubs in the division. Chelsea and Manchester United, for example, have spent hundreds of millions under new head coaches but have fallen well below expectations.
Emery, a little like Roberto De Zerbi at Brighton & Hove Albion, has proven that you don’t need a sky-high budget to achieve on-field results. To prove our point, we’ve put together Premier League standings since the day Emery took over at Villa. Spoiler – you’ll be delighted if you’re a Villan.