Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has praised the club’s support for being steadfast as they chase a top four finish and a place in the UEFA Champions League next season.
The Premier League is coming to a head and Villa have solidified their hold on the top four. Emery is coaching a masterclass and the one-time Champions League winners look set to return to the competition which they have not participated in in decades.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have confirmed their place in Europe for the second-straight season. However, they went into the Villa match hoping to get three points so they can go ahead of Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and ride on that wave until the end of the season and be crowned champions of England.
Now, it looks like that dream is over and it is all thanks to their former manager, Emery.
The Spaniard was happy about the outcome of the game and praised his team’s support for being with them all through the season and cheering them to achieve all they have so far.
“I’m very proud of our work, the players and the supporters,” he said. “They were here with us, pushing us, supporting us, trying to play with us. Matches like today, when we play at this level to get these performances, we feel we can keep increasing our level to get those positions in the top seven teams.
“These three points are the same like we played for last week against Brentford and we will play for against Bournemouth next week, but to get here three points is giving us confidence and power to prepare the next matches being motivated and excited to get our objective in Europe and the Premier League.”
Both teams played even in the first half and had equal chances to take the lead. World Cup winner and former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez was on top form against his former side just as Arsenal transfer target Ollie Watkins was against the team he is rumoured to be joining in the summer.
The second half was different, however, as Villa took control from start to finish to eventually win the game with two goals in three minutes.
Speaking about his team’s performance in the game, Emery said: “Our plan was to be consistent for 90 minutes, try to control the game from minute one to minute 90.
“We needed to stop them when they were playing with their skill and positioning at home here with the fans. We needed very high commitment from everybody to get our best performances defensively, helping a lot in individual duals.
“We didn’t dominate with ball possession in the first half a lot, but we avoided their press and were adding confidence. In the second half, we were getting better, imposing ourselves.
“We have very good players, we have our positioning and our idea and style, and when we are imposing our game we can face teams like Arsenal.
“It’s really fantastic. It was very difficult but we did it and we keep going, move on and be positive.”
