‘Never had the players’ – Pundit suggests Aston Villa assets better than Arsenal for Emery due to backing

Former top-flight footballer John Giles has suggested that the players at Aston Villa are backing Unai Emery and that’s the reason he’s doing better than he did at Arsenal.

Emery has quickly turned Villa into one of the most competitive sides in the country. From a relegation scrap when he joined mid-way through last season, he managed to inspire his side to a seventh-placed Premier League finish.

The Villans have built upon that this term, as they’re currently third and just two points off the top. If they retain their current spot, not only would it be a fantastic achievement in that it would secure Champions League football for the first time ever, it would beat Emery’s best Premier League finish with Arsenal of fifth.

The Spaniard started well at the Emirates in the 2018/19 campaign, but things fell away in his second season, and he didn’t last very long.

Former top-flight footballer Giles believes he’s doing better with Villa than he was at Arsenal as the players believe in him, and that was not the case with the Gunners.

“He’s been there long enough to get them playing the way he wants them to play,” Giles said on The Stand.

“The players then get confidence in the manager, he’s got the players on his side and I think at Arsenal he never had that, he never had the players on his side to do what was needed to be done.”

Indeed, a fair few Villa players have been resurgent since he joined the club. Douglas Luiz, John McGinn and Leon Bailey are all players who are putting in starring performances week in, week out.

While Emery managed good players at Arsenal, he didn’t have people playing out of their skin each week to gain results, and that the Villa players desperately want to win is why they’re doing so well.

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