Jamie Carragher has stated that Unai Emery would be a ‘fantastic’ appointment by Aston Villa as the Villarreal boss is set to replace Steven Gerrard as manager, as he told Monday Night Football on Sky Sports (24/10/22 at 7:20 pm).
The Liverpool legend was told by presenter David Jones that Emery, who managed Arsenal, is now set for a return to the Premier League and Carragher backed the call by stating that he is a ‘big fan’ of the 50-year-old.
Last Thursday, Villa sacked Steven Gerrard in a pretty ruthless fashion when he was shown the door just an hour after his side were humiliated by Fulham – Gary Neville labelled it a ‘joke’.
Days later, they followed it up with a quite emphatic and energising win when they beat Thomas Frank’s Brentford 4-0 in front of a jubilant Villa Park crowd – Alan Shearer thinks it proved that some players didn’t like Gerrard.
Those in B6 crave Europe, over the years, Emery has proved to be a master at securing success in that department, winning four Europa Leagues, including most recently in the colours of Villarreal when they beat Manchester United on penalties.
Nonetheless, this is what Carragher made of Villa being close to securing the managerial talents of Emery.
“I think it would be a fantastic appointment,” said Carragher. “I am a huge fan of Unai Emery. He has had a lot of his success with teams just below the elite. Almost fighting against the biggest clubs.
“It didn’t quite go well for him at Arsenal. But you look at what he did with Villarreal. Europa League winners and how far they pushed Liverpool in the Champions League.
“He was brilliant at Valencia, always getting them into the Champions League places. I don’t think he’s the type of manager, not to be disrespectful, for Barcelona or Real Madrid.
“But Valencia and Aston Villa. Almost trying to compete with teams who have more money. He gets his teams really organised and he is a super coach. Maybe not for the biggest names on the planet. For Aston Villa, right now, it’s a fantastic appointment.”
SMART MOVE BY VILLA
First and foremost, the Spaniard is a massive upgrade on the man who has just left the Villa Park dugout.
During his managerial career, Emery has proven to punch above the weight of teams who are just below the elite.
Getting Villarreal to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season was perhaps a bigger achievement than winning the Europa League itself with the La Liga club.
Either way, this is a man with experience, a very organised formation and a point to prove given that things didn’t exactly go as planned for him when he was at Arsenal.
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