Former Arsenal boss Unai Emery has been announced as the new head coach of Aston Villa, joining the Premier League side on a long-term deal. The Spaniard made the switch from Villarreal, where he achieved plenty in their cup competitions during his two-year tenure.
Two of them came in Europe, winning the Europa League in his first season before guiding them to a Champions League semi-final while beating the likes of Juventus and Bayern Munich. While his pragmatic style didn't work with the Gunners in England, there was still plenty of admiration from the Premier League.
Following their takeover, Newcastle United eyed a move for Emery as their new head coach in November 2021, though he turned it down to focus on his side. Things have since changed, with the move to the Midlands coming after their slow start to the season under Steven Gerrard.
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Arsenal will have to wait until February 2023 before they face off against their former boss, having already faced Villa this season and winning 2-1 at the Emirates Stadium. That could be a huge boost for them if Emery gets off to a fairly quick start with his new team.
Though on top of that, a quick start could also benefit the Gunners in another way as the Villains face four sides in their next five Premier League games that will be pushing for the Champions League. First up is Newcastle United, and while the manager won't be cleared in time to be in charge of the game, there's no doubt that some of his ideas will be filtering through.
After the Magpies comes a clash against Manchester United and then Brighton to take them all the way to the international break for the World Cup. After the month-long break in which the boss could have plenty of time on the training ground, they then return against Liverpool and Tottenham back-to-back.
It represents a tough start for Emery, but should he hit the ground running, rivals around Arsenal could drop costly points in the race to qualify for the Champions League.
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