An impeccable situation at Aston Villa.
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00:00 What's your take on the standout team in the Midlands at the moment?
00:23 It's been absolutely incredible and a privilege to cover them at this time. Speaking to Unai Emery after every match, it's been amazing just to sit in the same room with him, let alone chat to him every time.
00:35 He's always got such words of wisdom. His English isn't the best, we know this, but he seems to get his point across incredibly well every time.
00:44 Aston Villa on the whole, what a performance they're putting in at the moment. If they can beat Sheffield United, as we're recording this, a couple of days away, they can go top of the Premier League for Christmas.
00:55 Whether or not that happens or not, we'll wait and see. But regardless, the start they've made is well beyond any Villa fan's dream.
01:02 Especially if you go back 13, 14 months when Steven Gerrard was here and they're only a point or so above the relegation zone. Unai Emery coming in 14 months later, one point off the title.
01:14 It's a complete turnaround. I think he's proven himself as one of the best managers in the Premier League in Europe. He's done that over the years. But right now, it's just been amazing. A tactical masterclass.
01:26 Just looking back at the year 2023, obviously we're nearing the end of it now, but in terms of a Manager of the Year candidate, you could maybe look at Sean Dyche for the job he's done at Everton to turn around.
01:38 But also Aston Villa, I mean, Unai Emery, the way you mentioned he's turned the ship around, but he's sort of took them to this whole new level as well. How confident do you think he could be in that race for the Manager of the Year?
01:52 I think he's probably the Manager of the Year, to be fair. 25 wins in the calendar year in the Premier League for the first time in Villa's history, in a top flight for the first time in their history.
02:03 A record 15 home wins in a row in the top flight. They matched that from a record of being 19-03, I think it was, 120 years ago. They then beat that with another win.
02:13 The wins against City and Arsenal were the most impressive. Only one nil, but just the hard work shown. Two very different performances. Incredible.
02:21 It's not just against the smaller teams. They did have a good run of fixtures, we have to admit that. But then they come in absolutely knackered from their European fight.
02:29 And then they're playing the two best teams in the league last season. They were fighting it out again for the title this year. They're now above City and just a point off Arsenal.
02:37 It's amazing what they're doing. Unai Emery is an incredible manager. I think you can argue for Sean Dyche, you can argue for Eddie Howe at Newcastle, even Roberto Di Zerbi at Brighton.
02:48 But no, I think Unai Emery, with what he's got in terms of resources, has done an incredible job.
02:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]