Former Arsenal and Villarreal coach Unai Emery is among the main favorites to succeed Steven Gerrard at the head of the Aston Villa bench. The leaders of the club are in talks with the Spanish technician and the parties are communicating on the details of the possible contract. Gerrard was sacked after the 3-0 defeat to Fulham last week.
Aston Villa meanwhile managed a 4-0 win over Brentford on Sunday under assistant manager Aaron Danks. This was only the third win for the team this season in the Premier League.
Unai Emery joined Villarreal in 2020 after a brief stint with Arsenal. The Spaniard was sacked by the London club in 2019 after spending 18 months in charge of the bench at the Emirates. The sacking came after Arsenal failed to win in 7 games in a row, their worst record at the time since 1992.
Although Emery managed to qualify Arsenal to the Europa League final, the "gunners" were defeated by Chelsea, failing to be declared champions. But still, the Spanish technician managed to lift the trophy, 2 years later with Villarreal. What's more, Emery led his side to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, a remarkable achievement despite being knocked out of the Champions League. Villarreal is currently in 7th place in the La Liga standings.
Emery was contacted by Newcastle last year, but the coach rejected the club's proposal. The Spaniard seems closer to Aston Villa, but the latter do not want to take risks, and are working at the same time on a plan B. The club leaders are also in talks with representatives of Benfica's coach, Ruben Amor. Meanwhile, sports opinion has positively welcomed the news of Emery's possible approach to Aston Villa, evaluating the qualities and discipline of the Villarreal technician.
