View: Unai Emery is much more than just a ‘Premier League firefighter’ at Aston Villa
Unai Emery being labelled a ‘firefighter’ overlooks the lofty ambitions of European success at Aston Villa.
Emery came into a struggling Aston Villa side low on confidence after a poor start to the season under Steven Gerrard.
The Spaniard has only taken charge of two Premier League games so far in his tenure, but he’s picked up six points against fifth-placed Manchester United and seventh-placed Brighton.
Coming from a top team in Spain to a struggling side in England may have raised a few eyebrows, but The Athletic‘s Oliver Kay believes it follows a trend of experienced European managers unable to turn down the pull of the Premier League.
“It’s intriguing but, while [Graham] Potter has found life tough as Thomas Tuchel’s successor since a brief honeymoon period and [Nathan] Jones faces an uphill task at St Mary’s, Emery already looks like the type of pragmatist who can bring a sense of organisation, discipline and direction at Villa.
“Is this the start of something new? The Premier League firefighter deluxe edition? Is the league’s financial strength and allure now so overwhelming that we might one day see Jose Mourinho or Carlo Ancelotti sign up to lead a survival operation?”
Where Villa belong
While Emery’s appointment raised a few eyebrows across the footballing world, not many Villa fans were surprised at the club’s ability to lure a top manager, and that’s because they fully understand the size and stature of the club.
While on paper the Aston Villa job was a survival scrap, managing at Villa Park has so much more potential than that – a huge fan base, an historic stadium, a talented squad and proactive owners.
Villa’s place in the Premier League is certainly in the top half of the table, and the club has the ambition to not stop there.
After hearing the club’s European ambitions who can blame Emery for taking the job? Villa should have never been as low as they were under Gerrard in the first place, and immediately after Emery’s appointment conversation about finishing in the top half began.
So while Emery’s job in his first month at Villa Park was firefighting, he’s now climbing up the table to be seen as an equal to the league’s best.
In other Aston Villa news, Unai Emery is a long-term admirer of Nacho Fernandez and wants to bring him to Aston Villa