On The Volley: Why Unai Emery is Perfect Replacement for Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa

By Charlie DeMatteo

Not even 12 months ago, Aston Villa hired Premier League legend Steven Gerrard as their manager to replace an underperforming Dean Smith. With Gerrard’s only managerial experience prior to Villa coming in the form of Rangers in the Scottish Premier League, many questioned whether Gerrard had mastered his trade as a manager to a level where he was capable of managing in the English Premier League.

With big money spent, and little to nothing to show for it on the field, the answer to that question has now been answered. Gerrard exits Aston Villa after a hefty summer investment with just nine points after 11 games. With clear quality in the squad not performing, Villa’s board had no choice but to give Gerrard the sack. Gerrard’s replacement comes in the form of Spaniard of Unai Emery, a four-time Europa League winner with Sevilla and Villareal, and former Paris St-Germain and Arsenal manager.

There are a couple of reasons why I love the appointment of Emery at Villa. Before I get into why it is a great appointment tactically, I want to get into why it is a great story for both Emery and the Premier League, and that story is one of revenge.

Emery made his name at Sevilla, where he won three consecutive Europa League titles. Those honors then saw him get the poisoned chalice that is the PSG job, where his most iconic moment came when his team blew a 4-0 lead in the second leg to Barcelona as a 6-1 loss saw his team knocked out.

Emery didn’t last much longer at the French giant before another big club came calling in the form of Arsenal. But the vacancy at Arsenal was not just any normal one; Emery had to fill the shoes of one of the greatest managers in the history game and by far the greatest in Arsenal’s history, Arsene Wenger. 

Arsenal had been stalling for years both on and off the field. On the field, they were no longer perennial title challengers like they had been in the late 1990s and 2000s. Off the field, American owner Stan Kroenke was far from popular and the fan base became toxic as the ‘Wenger Out’ movement split the fanbase in two. Coming into the Arsenal job, Emery was almost destined to fail. However, in his first season, there were signs of progression. Arsenal were playing some attractive football, and Emery got them to the final of the Europa League, where they would play London rivals, Chelsea. 

The 2019 Europa League Final was the beginning of the end for Emery at Arsenal, as his side was handed a humiliating 4-1 loss, denying them entry into the Champions League for a second consecutive season. Emery’s second season with the Gunners was tainted by the failure of the previous season, and he didn’t make it past the New Year as he was sacked after poor results. Mikel Arteta was brought in to replace him.

Arsenal would go on to finish eighth that year and the next year under Arteta, and only started to turn things around in 2021 after large amounts of investment, indicating Emery may not have been the problem.

After the Arsenal job went south, Emery found his next gig at the Spanish club Villareal. In his first season, Emery did what he does best: He managed to win the Europa League again in a dramatic penalty shootout win over Manchester United, earning Villareal’s first-ever trophy in their history.

The following season, he took his team on a Cinderella journey in the Champions League, defying the odds and making it all the way to the semi-final before falling to Liverpool.

Financial issues at the club this summer meant Villareal was not able to back Emery in the way he would have wanted. Due to this lack of investment, when Aston Villa came calling, Emery was willing to leave his post in Spain to head back to the Premier League. Villa are a storied club, with spending power that could see them qualify for European competition under the right manager, and everything is set up for Emery to be that man. 

Emery was hounded out of Arsenal and their toxic fan base. His accent caused his postgame interviews to be made fun of, with the line “good ebening” becoming iconic as his Spanish accent wasn’t the most conducive to effortless English.

As I spoke about earlier, Emery was destined to fail trying to fill the shoes of Wenger at Arsenal. Arsenal fans had shown their true colors in calling for their best-ever manager to be sacked despite consistent top four finishes, and a short leash was to be expected when it came to how they would treat Emery. The Arsenal board was hesitant to sign players Emery specifically wanted, like Wilfred Zaha, and instead opted to pay big money for Nicolas Pepe, who eventually flopped.

Between the board not trusting him and the fans constantly on his back, Emery was probably better off leaving the North London club. With a club like Aston Villa, who has smaller ambitions as opposed to a club like Arsenal, the trust that I hope will be instilled in Emery by Villa CEO Christian Purslow and the Villa board will allow Emery to express himself as a manager and show what he is truly made of. 

Emery’s career arc has been quite similar to that of current West Ham United manager David Moyes. Moyes, like Emery, was the man to replace a legendary manager at a huge English club. For Moyes, it was replacing Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Moyes was destined to fail as, similarly to Arsenal, behind the scenes at United was a mess.

The board was focused more on profits than results, and an aging squad saw Moyes sacked within nine months. With his reputation in the gutter, Moyes eventually found his way to West Ham, where he has shaped the squad in his image and proved countless doubters wrong who called him worthless after the United disaster.

Emery has the same opportunity as Moyes here. If Emery can get Aston Villa playing similarly to how his Sevilla and Villareal teams did, I believe the investments made by the Villa board in recent years will finally pay off in the form of quality results on the field.

Speaking of investment, let’s now take a look at some of the players Villa have signed and why they fit an Emery system perfectly. Emery loves to play with two strikers, and Ollie Watkins and Danny Ings are both proven Premier League goal-scorers who, under Emery, can take their game to the next level. On top of that, Emery loves to utilize wide areas with technical wingers. Players like Philippe Coutinho and Leon Bailey in the right system could wreak havoc for Premier League defenses. 

Altogether, the story behind Emery and the players at his disposal makes for a great match at Aston Villa. As someone who thinks Emery was treated too harshly in his previous stint in England, I can’t help but root for him as he tries to solidify himself as a top manager in the Premier League.