'Wow' - Unai Emery reserves special praise for 'fantastic' Aston Villa duo who lead mega Premier League stat
What Unai Emery said about two Aston Villa stars after the Nottingham Forest win as they build on a remarkable partnership.
Unai Emery heaped praise on Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers after Aston Villa’s comfortable 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest.
The Villans kicked off 2026 with a bang as they made it 11 home wins on the trot, courtesy of a stunning brace from captain John McGinn and a 20-yard curler from Watkins. It was the perfect response after the 4-1 defeat away at Arsenal last week, a result which had ended the tremendous purple patch.
McGinn, who scored a divine first-time effort into the top left to make it 2-0 and a 30-yard strike after rounding John Victor for 3-1, was undoubtedly the star of the show. But Watkins, the opening goalscorer, still deserved all his plaudits on what was his 250th Villa appearance.
Watkins’ form an inevitability
After several months of struggles at the start of the season, Watkins is finally back in the goals. The centre-forward’s impressive strike against Forest was his fourth in his last three Premier League matches. Before that, the England international had netted merely three in 17 league games, two of which came against Brighton & Hove Albion.
Birmingham World pointed out to Emery that it has been a long time coming for Watkins, who many wrote off in the first months of the 2025/26 campaign. The head coach, relaxed in his post-match press conference, responded to our question and was thrilled with his number 11’s performance.
“I was happy two months ago. I am happy now,” Emery said. “For him it is much, much better. Even when he wasn’t scoring, others were scoring. We need every player focused like him, and doing his task like him. The most important thing is how we can complete our tasks. The numbers are important because it makes them a protagonist. It is fantastic.”
Emery hails ‘fantastic’ Villa partnership
Emery was then told that no duo in the Premier League have combined more often than Watkins and Morgan Rogers in the past 12 months, with 10 goals down to them assisting one another. To that, the head coach added: “Wow, Morgan and Watkins are both fantastic players. They are fantastic competitors themselves.
“They are both focusing on improving things and their commitment here is massive. Their commitment to Aston Villa and with us. They set standards with their behaviour every day. They have a competitive way every day, not just now but every day in the training ground. They are so professional in everything and it is fantastic to have players like them. I am proud of them.”
Villa fans will be hoping their attacking duo can continue their dynamism ahead of an important run of games. The Villans take on bogey team Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park on Wednesday before an away trip to Tottenham Hotspur in the Emirates FA Cup third round. After that, Villa play host to Everton in the Premier League.