Unai Emery deserves Manager of the Season award for Aston Villa transformation
Unai Emery, the head coach of Aston Villa, has performed amazingly well at Villa Park.
Unai Emery, the manager of Aston Villa, is deserving of the title of 2023–24 Premier League Manager of the Season thus far. Sunday People chief sports writer Neil Moxley examines the head coach’s achievements at Villa Park.
When Emery was named the club’s head coach in October 2022, the Villans’ standing in the Premier League appeared vulnerable, since the West Midlands team had recently parted ways with Steven Gerrard.
After finishing in seventh position, Aston Villa was able to avoid relegation and guarantee their spot in the Europa Conference League for the 2023–2024 season. But Emery’s team has improved over the current season, and they could believe they have a real chance of winning the Premier League.
Aston Villa’s fantastic start to the 2023/24 season
Under Emery’s leadership, Aston Villa has had an incredible year, rising to the top of the Premier League standings. The Villans have improved upon their 2023–24 season seventh-place result by making some smart additions in the summer transfer window and playing above average.
Before the September window deadline, Youri Tielemans, Pau Torres, Moussa Diaby, Nicolo Zaniolo, and Clement Lenglet all arrived in the West Midlands. Villa has been playing like a house on fire this season, winning their past 15 league home games and clinching their place in the Europa Conference League final stages.
Emery’s side responded to a disappointing 2-2 draw at AFC Bournemouth on 3rd December by securing consecutive home 1-0 victories over Manchester City and Arsenal. Those six points leave Villa sitting third in the Premier League, two points behind league leaders Liverpool, and five points ahead of fifth-placed Tottenham Hotspur.
While there are aspirations of a league championship surrounding Villa Park, the team appears to be well on their way to guaranteeing a spot in the 2024–25 Champions League, as their stellar home record shows no signs of abating. When the 2024 winter transfer window opens, the Villans might solidify their hold on a top-four finish. Additionally, Moxley said GIVEMESPORT on December 8 that Villa may consider bolstering their center-forward lineup due to uncertainties around the choices for strikers behind Ollie Watkins.
| Unai Emery – Premier League record | |
|---|---|
| Matches | 92 |
| Wins | 51 |
| Draws | 19 |
| Losses | 22 |
| Goals For | 166 |
| Goals Against | 116 |
| Manager of the Month awards | 1 |
| Stats according to the official Premier League website | |
Neil Moxley on Unai Emery
According to Moxley, if the Premier League’s 2023–24 Manager of the Season award were given out right now, Emery would not even be up for debate. There isn’t a head coach in the league that the journalist can think of that has performed better. According to Moxley, GIVEMESPORT
“It’s probably not even an argument that Emery is the current Premier League Manager of the Season. He just ended a 91-year-old record after they beat Arsenal last weekend. He’s engineered 15 home wins on the trot, and Villa are one point behind the league leaders.
“Who’s done a better job? Mikel Arteta has been backed with a lot of money and has transformed Arsenal into title pretenders; I get that. But it’s been staggering if you look at why Emery was brought in and where Aston Villa were. Suppose there was a Manager of the Season award right now. In that case, I know that everybody’s been raving about Ange Postecoglou, but let’s be honest about it, Emery’s performance has been a little short of staggering.”
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