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LONDON. — In football, as in life, timing is everything and the time is now right for Unai Emery to return to the country where he feels he has unfinished business.
His appointment as Aston Villa manager means he will be back in the English Premier League almost three years since being sacked by Arsenal.
Emery could have returned last November when he received an offer from Newcastle United following the departure of Steve Bruce, although at that point he was involved in a Champions League campaign with Villarreal which eventually took them to the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Liverpool.
The Newcastle offer also came at a bad time because being settled at Villarreal allowed him to spend a lot more time with his son — something he had been unable to do with all the travelling in his previous jobs — and he also felt secure and wanted at a club that were pushing in the right direction.
As well as taking Villarreal to the Champions League semi-final, Emery also led them to Europa League success in the 2020-21 season, beating Manchester United in the final.
Injuries and a lack of a certain something means that his current Villarreal side seem to have hit a bit of a wall and are in need of refreshing, especially if they are to go in the direction Emery wanted.
But that will now be someone else’s job as Emery sets out on his latest mission to prove just how good he can be when given a proper chance, something he always felt was denied him at Arsenal.
The impression many have is that things did not go well for him at Arsenal, but the reality is that in his first season he went 22 games without losing and also took Arsenal to the final of the Europa League.
Having previously led Paris St-Germain to the French league title and won three Europa Leagues with Sevilla, Emery was sacked after 18 months at Arsenal following a seven-match winless run that left them eight points off the top four.
He never felt he had the necessary authority to make the decisions needed to take them in the right direction and that he was not backed by the powers that be in confrontations with some of the huge personalities there. — BBC Sport
Online Reporter