Unai Emery declared he is delighted to be back in the Premier League after arriving at Aston Villa and setting himself the target of winning silverware.
The Spaniard was unveiled at Villa Park today ahead of Manchester United's visit on Sunday. He replaces Steven Gerrard who was sacked after a poor start to the season which has left Villa languishing in 16th.
Emery was hired from Villarreal where he won the Europa League for a fourth time and Villa now hope he can work his magic with them too. He returns to the Premier League after previously bossing Arsenal from May 2018-November 2019 before being sacked after the Gunners' worst results since 1992.
Reflecting on his spell with the Gunners, Emery, who turned 51 on Thursday, said: “I learnt a lot. Overall each team, they gave us some experiences playing against them. And in Europe for 15 years playing against a lot of English teams.
“In my experiences in Spain, France and the Premier League, I played against a lot of teams in the world and I think the Premier League is maybe the first league in the world. My dream is now to win a trophy with Aston Villa and a personal challenge.
“My second objective is to play with Aston Villa in Europe. But now we have to think only about the next match because we are not in a good position. My only focus now is Manchester United. Our players are underperforming and my focus is to try to help them.”
Emery will have the support of the club’s billionaire owners Wes Edens and Nassef Sawiris in the transfer market.He will take his time to decide his captain after Gerrard took the armband off Tyrone Mings last summer and gave it to John McGinn, who has been struggling for form.
Villa CEO Christian Purslow said: “Unai has a track record across a number of top leagues. “He is a serial winner of the trophies that is the profile we are absolutely proud and delighted to have as our manager at Aston Villa.
“His arrival is perhaps the most important step our club have taken since our promotion from the Championship three years ago. Unai will have the personal support of our owners in driving forward our first team and also bringing our young talent through from our academy which we all believe is so crucial to our long-term success and sustainability.”
