As Aston Villa chase a second successive Champions League qualification, all eyes are on Unai Emery and the remarkable transformation he’s overseen in just over a year at Villa Park.
From a team stuck in mid-table to genuine European contenders, Emery has brought structure, intensity, and belief to a squad that’s now thriving on the big stage.
From a team stuck in mid-table to genuine European contenders, Emery has brought structure, intensity, and belief to a squad that’s now thriving on the big stage.
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00:00now as Aston Villa chase a second successive Champions League qualification
00:07all eyes are on Unar Emre and the remarkable transformation he's overseen in just over two
00:12years at Aston Villa from a team stuck in mid-table to a genuine European contenders
00:18Emre is full structure, intensity and belief to a squad that's now thriving on the biggest stage
00:24Villa's form this season has been consistently impressive with a high energy style that has
00:29overwhelmed even the league's best side I spoke to Charlie Haffenden of Birmingham World who says
00:35Emre's impact cannot be overstated even after a draining European campaign Villa have shown
00:41no signs of slowing down with the finish line in sight Villa looked well replaced to return to
00:47Europe's top table Emre already adored by the fan base is building something special and Champions League
00:54football would be the perfect reward for a team that's grown in confidence, style and ambition
00:59under his leadership
01:00Charlie let's look at Aston Villa and in terms of their season yes we've mentioned it's been
01:09a pretty meteoric rise from an Emre side ever so slowly last season was was fantastic this season
01:15they've pressed on even more they've done so well reaching the latter stages of the FA Cup
01:20the Champions League as well in terms of season standout the standout players at Villa we've
01:26mentioned you know Morgan Rodgers, Jake and Ramsey they've sort of built a fantastic bit of a standout
01:31season a breakthrough campaign if you will and then there's been you know quality throughout the
01:36side who's stood out for you in terms of understanding this system you know we obviously
01:41mentioned John McGinn as well he's been so good in terms of his rise from from where he was to the
01:45Champions League under Unai Emery it's been been pretty incredible um who stands out as a player of the
01:51season possibly um to get that pick for Aston Villa yeah I think there are so many that you could put
01:57into the conversation for player of the season for Villa and and so many that have been crucial to
02:01Emery's system the way he wants to operate he's got quite a rigid structure he wants his attacking
02:06midfielders and his wingers to kind of tuck in and form a diamond at times in midfield he wants
02:10one striker you can get in beyond the lines but someone to support Justin behind we've seen Morgan
02:16Rodgers the man the number 10 role when Marco Asensio was signed then Rodgers moved out to the
02:21right performing just as well in that position versatility being so important for so many of
02:26these players John McGinn as you've mentioned Jacob Ramsey even Marcus Rashford to an extent going out
02:31on the left wing and then out front when Emery wants him to but the standout for me is someone who's
02:36not really moved positions too much but it's just stayed in that midfield double pivot throughout the
02:40entire season it's Yuri Telemans we've seen even when fixture congestion has got crazy quite literally
02:47crazy at times you've had games every three or four days Telemans hasn't missed a beat he's hardly
02:53even have substituted off towards the end of games Emery knows how important he is to his system
02:58whether it's alongside Bubikar Kamara or alongside Amadou Onana John McGinn the likes Telemans is the one
03:05player that's always in there you could argue as well Rodgers he's hardly here missed a beat either
03:10but Telemans just the way that he picks up the ball he knows exactly where his teammates are
03:14even when there's a high press three or four players coming on to him he knows exactly how to turn away
03:19from the danger he can find a defense splitting pass three games in a row with an assist it's just
03:24incredible really what he's done and obviously being relegated with Leicester City you think is he
03:29going to hit that potential he certainly has it took him a bit of time to adjust under Emery but this
03:34season he's really come into his own and in my opinion one of the best midfielders in the Premier League
03:38full stop yeah obviously he had that potential at Leicester we saw how good he could be on his day
03:43you mentioned there the slow start to his Villa career what do you sort of think was the main
03:48factors in turning that turning a corner and maybe Emery installing a bit of belief in him a bit of
03:54you know confidence in him because he can be a world beater on his day and he's proven it this
03:58season his longevity and his his fitness rate has been second to none I think it's just the patience
04:04really because we saw he was a little bit raw at Leicester at times maybe his decision making was
04:09a bit rash Emery's just helps him to adapt and calm down a little bit maybe not get so frustrated
04:14I think as well not being in a relegation battle helps having higher quality players in and around
04:20him helps as well but he's just thrived whenever players have come at him the way he turns on the
04:25ball that was a bit like John McGinn actually he wasn't quite that player he was amazing of course at
04:30Villa a cult hero one of the fan favorites the club captain but the way he moves on the ball has
04:35changed completely since Emery comes in I think there's something there with the individual
04:38instructions playing so so often but he does and it's been mega impressive
04:43so
04:48you
04:52you
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