 He succeeds Steven Gerrard with Villa languishing 16th despite Edens and Sawiris pumping in millions for new players after injecting money into the club by buying more shares. Emery feels Villa's squad are 'underperforming' but is confident of improving their fortunes. He has watched their recent matches against Erik ten Hag's United as preparation, includin){kind=link}
Aston Villa will begin the Unai Emery era with a Premier League match against Manchester United, after the former Arsenal manager was unveiled as Steven Gerrard’s successor
Unai Emery has put his birthday celebrations on hold until Sunday as he plots another upset against Manchester United.
The former Arsenal boss quit Villarreal to take charge at Aston Villa this week. The Spanish coach has thrown himself into the job with long hours at their training ground and didn’t get a chance to mark turning 51 on Thursday.
Villa haven’t beaten Manchester United at home in the Premier League in 23 Premier League games – an unwanted top-flight record dating back to August 1995. But Emery is undaunted after masterminding Villarreal’s first ever major trophy when they won the Europa League final on penalties in May 2021 at United’s expense.
Emery said: “My birthday will be on Sunday if we win. If we win against Manchester United, I am going to enjoy it after this match. On Thursday, I didn’t even have time to answer a lot of messages.”