Aston Villa has confirmed the signing of former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as the successor to Steve Gerrard. Gerrard, who was appointed last year by Villa after his heroics with the Rangers, was sacked after a run of terrible results in the Premier League despite some heavy investments made by the club. Emery quit his job with Villarreal to join the 1982 European Cup winners. 

Aston Villa has confirmed the signing of former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as the successor to Steve Gerrard. Gerrard, who was appointed last year by Villa after his heroics with the Rangers, was sacked after a run of terrible results in the Premier League despite some heavy investments made by the club. Emery quit his job with Villarreal to join the 1982 European Cup winners. 

Unai Emery comes into the Villa job after a historic spell with Villarreal. He led the Yellow Submarines to their first-ever major title when they defeated Manchester United in the final of the Europa League in 2021. He went on to lead the club to a staggering semi-final finish in the Champions League last season. 

Aston Villa was experiencing one of their worst slumps with Gerrard at the helm. The former Liverpool man was beginning to lose the trust of the club fans as they won just two of their opening 12 games in the Premier League this season. With a series of tight games coming up, Villa’s hierarchy chose to act quickly and sacked Gerrard on October 20.

Villa produced a stellar performance at home under the caretaker manager Aaron John Danks. They defeated Brentford 4-0 in an astounding display, where the first three goals were scored in the opening 15 minutes of the match. Danny Ings scored twice, while Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins scored one each. 

“Aston Villa is delighted to announce the appointment of Unai Emery as the club’s new Head Coach. A highly experienced top-level coach who has managed over 900 games, Unai has also previously managed in the Premier League during a spell with Arsenal, leading the Gunners to a Europa League final,” the club statement read. 

Unai Emery comes to the club with a sensational resume to his credit. Before his stint with Villarreal, he had managed Arsenal in the Premier League, leading them to the Europa League final in 2019. He also worked as the head coach of Paris Saint-Germain, with whom he won the French Ligue 1 and multiple domestic trophies. 

His best tenure as manager came with Spanish club Sevilla, with whom he won three Europa League titles from 2014 to 2016. 

Aston Villa went on to confirm that Unai Emery will take over the reins as manager post-November 1, after getting the government the necessary work permits.