New Aston Villa manager Unai Emery is more ‘meticulous’ than Pep Guardiola.
That’s according to Villa reporter Ashley Preece, who has been finding out all about the Spanish coach upon his arrival in the Midlands.
Emery took training for the first time at Bodymoor Heath on Wednesday morning and will take charge of the side for his opening game at home to Manchester United this Sunday.
The former Arsenal boss will need to try and steady the ship at Villa Park, with the club currently in 16th position and reeling after their seventh defeat of the season last weekend.
However, the club’s fortunes may be about to change after Preece’s insight.
Speaking on the BBC’s Football News Show, he said: “He needs to stop leaking the goals and be tougher to beat. I think Unai will do that.
“Might be a bit dull for some in the early weeks, but it’s needed, very much needed.
“The players need to buy into it. There’ll be a massive culture change at Bodymoor Heath this week and next, and the players really need to buy into the manager.
“[There is] Massive emphasis on video analysis and [he is] very meticulous with his detail. I’ve heard he’s even more detailed than Pep Guardiola, so it just goes to show what’s coming for his Villa players.”
TIF Thoughts on Preece’s comments…
Will Emery be a success at Villa?Yes!
No!
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Emery is a four-time Europa League winner and will no doubt have arrived as one of the highest-quality managers in the West Midlands for some time.
His methods will seemingly be intense and it will likely be that his influence on the team is not felt until after the World Cup break, but one thing for sure is that fans can be excited.
Since narrowly avoiding relegation in the 2019/20 campaign, Villa have taken 1.44 and 1.18 points per league game in the following seasons respectively, while Villarreal took 1.53 points per match in La Liga across Emery’s two full seasons with the club.
The Yellow Submarine made the Champions League semi-finals last season despite having a squad value £130m less than that of Villa (as per Transfermarkt).
Having also won the Europa League in 2020/21, some may think that Emery won’t be able to do it at a club that hasnt’ been competing at that level for quite some time, but considering the resources the 50-year-old may have on offer, he could yet prosper on his return to England.