Aston Villa players have 'all bought into' the methods of Unai Emery

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·21 November 2023

Aston Villa players have 'all bought into' the methods of Unai Emery

Aston Villa have been in impressive form since Unai Emery arrived at the club, and Sunday People journalist Neil Moxley has made an interesting claim on the squad harmony at Villa Park, in an interview with GIVEMESPORT.

The Midlands club qualified for the Europa Conference League in the season that Emery took over, and they are set to battle for European places once again this term. The Spanish tactician is slowly building a squad capable of competing towards the top of the Premier League, and most of their key stars appear happy to stick around, with other clubs showing an interest.

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Emery deserves a lot of credit for creating an environment where players not only want to join the club but also current stars want to stay and continue on their journey. Villa will have to continue performing well to convince the likes of Douglas Luiz or Ollie Watkins to remain at Villa Park, but they're certainly an attractive prospect at the moment.

Unai Emery has changed the culture at Villa Park

When Emery returned to England to take over Villa, the former Arsenal manager reiterated his desire to create a certain culture at the club...

“My idea is to create here a culture of effort. That is my message in my mind. The culture of effort. We had this strong message in Villarreal. The owner and in the business they have this message and I used it there and I took it for myself. The culture of effort! And here is the same, the culture of effort!”

Many managers talk the talk when arriving at a new club and fans at Villa Park may have been sceptical about whether Emery would also be able to walk the walk. However, Villa have transformed since he was appointed, going from potential relegation candidates to competing for European places.

Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher recently claimed that there is an argument that Emery is the third-best manager in the Premier League. When quizzed on Carragher's comments, journalist Dean Jones told GIVEMESPORT that he believes the former Liverpool defender was right, due to how quickly he's turned things around at Villa Park.

Keeping his squad happy will undoubtedly be a major priority for Emery and it's far from easy when the players are performing so well in the Premier League. Competing in the Europa Conference League has allowed Emery to rotate his squad more than he usually would, but some of the team will likely be hoping for regular minutes in England's top flight, with the competition seen as the pinnacle in comparison to the Conference League.

Neil Moxley update

Moxley has suggested that after speaking to some of the Villa squad on a regular basis, the whole side appears to be buying into Emery's methods, including some of the fringe players. The journalist adds that this kind of squad harmony plays a huge part in building a successful club. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, Moxley said...

"What he's done has been absolutely fantastic. The one thing that does stick out from speaking to the players on a regular basis, is the fact that they all buy into him. It's very common for disaffected players to grumble and moan a little bit, but even players who are on the edges of the Villa side have nothing but good words to say about him. So they've absolutely bought into Unai Emery, absolutely bought into his method, and the results are following. And that's the sort of ingredients really for a successful football club that Aston Villa have ambitions to become."

Aston Villa are fighting to keep their stars

Although Emery is creating an environment where players could be looking to remain at the club, there could still be temptation if sides competing in the Champions League arrive with an offer. As per Football Transfers, Arsenal have held discussions with the agent of Watkins ahead of a potential move in the January transfer window. The England international has been in exceptional form for the Villans, so it's no surprise to see clubs showing an interest.

90min have also claimed that Luiz is being monitored by the Gunners, as the north London club plot a double swoop on Emery's squad. The Spanish manager has done well to avoid key players leaving so far, but he may need to be ready for a fight when the winter window opens.