Aston Villa have appointed former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as their new head coach after parting ways with Steven Gerrard earlier in the week.
A statement by the club confirmed that the 50-year-old will join Villa from the Spanish club Villarreal on November 1st after getting relevant work permits.
“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 Spaniard was earlier rumoured to be involved in discussions with Newcastle but turned them down in favour of staying in Spain.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, were also eyeing former Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino and former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel but was turned down by both, leading them to Unai Emery.
Emery made a name for himself with Sevilla guiding them to three consecutive Europa League titles in three years before PSG and then Arsenal came calling for his services. He managed to take Arsenal to the Europa League final in 2019 which they lost to Chelsea.
After being let go from the Gunners, he rebuilt his reputation at Villarreal beating Manchester United in the 2021 Europa League final and taking them to last season’s Champions League semifinals with memorable wins over Juventus and Bayern Munich before bowing out to Liverpool.
His first task at Villa would be to guarantee their safety this season. The club is currently 14th in the Premier League table, with 12 points from 12 games.
