Villa’s success under Emery’s guidance has been largely due to the impressive performance of their striker, Ollie Watkins, who was signed from Brentford in 2020.
Watkins has scored six goals
Unai Emery was appointed as Aston Villa’s new manager on November 1, 2022, when the team was in danger of being relegated from the Premier League. They were in sixteenth place at the time, with only two points above the relegation zone. However, Emery’s arrival gave the team the motivation they needed and helped them climb up to the eleventh place, with an 11-point cushion over Bournemouth. Emery, who has managed clubs such as Villarreal, Almeria, Valencia, Sevilla, and Paris Saint-Germain in the past, has set his sights on returning Villa to Europe. The team’s success under his guidance has been largely due to the impressive performance of their striker, Ollie Watkins, who was signed from Brentford in 2020. In the last seven Premier League matches, Watkins has scored six goals, a feat only matched by Erling Haaland and Marcus Rashford.
According to Unai Emery, Ollie’s mentality is very good
Emery has praised Watkins’ work ethic, stating that he always wants to do more and sometimes has to be held back. “His mentality is very good,” Emery said. “Sometimes we must tell him, ‘No, this is enough for today. Tomorrow, more’. In his mind, we must keep this mentality because that spirit is the best for him and the team. I want to support him with my experiences with strikers and give him the confidence to do more and more.” Watkins has also admired Emery’s coaching methods, revealing that the manager encourages him to stay in the box. “I often want to leave the box, but Unai tells me to stay there,” Watkins said in an interview with The Times. “It makes me laugh, but it works.”
Under Emery’s guidance, Watkins has become Villa’s leading scorer, accumulating 34 goals since joining the team. He also scored 45 goals with Brentford and 21 with Exeter earlier in his career. Emery’s ultimate goal is to return Villa to European competition, and with the team’s recent success, that goal seems achievable. “If I demand more from him, it’s because I think he can still be better,” Emery said of Watkins. Villa’s future looks bright with a talented manager and a promising young striker.