Unai Emery Makes Huge Claim in Awkward Interview

Unai Emery’s interview after Aston Villa‘s 1-0 defeat to Everton has been called one of the “oddest” Jamie Redknapp has ever seen. The Spanish coach gave a frosty response to a Sky Sports reporter who asked him for his opinion on his side’s top five prospects.

Thierno Barry scored the winner at Villa Park on Sunday, lobbing Emiliano Martinez in the 59th minute to hand Emery’s side its fifth defeat of the season. It hasn’t been the best of weeks for the Villans, who were toying with the idea of a potential Premier League title in December.

Emery insisted his men weren’t in the title race despite beating league leaders Arsenal 2-1 in early December. But he ruled out a top-five finish after today’s loss while suggesting he feels his club lacks potential in comparison with others.

Aston Villa 0-1 Everton: Not a Good Evening For Emery

Emery spoke after the defeat with his side sitting third, level on points with second-placed Manchester City and seven off Arsenal. The Spaniard said, “We are still not contenders to be in the top five. We are now, but we are still not contenders.”

When he was asked what it takes to be a top-five contender, he responded: “Because there are a lot of teams with more potential than us.”

The interviewer pressed Emery for an explanation, and he gave a stonewalling response as an awkward silence grew. He slightly smiled before the interview ended.

Emery has earned huge praise this season, not only for propelling Villa into the title picture, but also for doing so after a difficult summer when financial constraints prevented the club from making major signings. His side was on an eight-game winning streak until losing 4-1 to Arsenal just ahead of the new year.

The Spaniard’s comments have left many confused, given that they have been one of the best performers this season. The Midlands outfit are seven points ahead of last season’s champions, Liverpool, in fourth, and eight points above fifth-placed Manchester United.

Emery Interview Weirds Out Jamie Redknapp

Ashley Young was in the Sky Sports studio, and he responded to the interview with confusion. The former Manchester United winger suggested Emery might be ruing injuries, having watched John McGinn go off in the first half:

“He looked really angry and it could be the injuries, maybe another one added to the list with John McGinn today. Missing Boubacar Kamara, (Amadou) Onana as well.”

Villa allowed Donyell Malen to join Serie A side AS Roma, believed to be on a loan with an obligation to buy. Young touched on this when trying to work out Emery’s comments:

“Is it the sale of Donyell Malen? Is it him speaking out to the owners to say ‘look at my squad, I need more players’? I don’t know, it was a weird interview, you think he’d speak more about the game and the missed opportunity of closing the gap on Arsenal. To then say there are five other teams with more potential, it’s weird.”

Villa’s players have been singing Emery’s praises throughout the season, including Morgan Rogers, who called him a genius ahead of today’s game. But the Spaniard’s unwelcoming demeanour during his interview left Redknapp scratching his head:

“It wasn’t quite Rafa (Benitez) facts or Kevin Keegan’s ‘I’d love it if we beat them’, but it was certainly one of the oddest interviews I’ve ever seen. The bit at the end, when he just goes quiet, was a very sensible question. She wasn’t asking him anything difficult. I don’t really know what he’s trying to allude to. I guess he’s just genuinely devastated by that performance and the result, and he’s maybe (send) a message in another way.”

Villa spent around £45 million in the summer, including the arrival of Evan Guessand. But financial constraints meant they had to lean on the loan market, bringing in Jadon Sancho and Harvey Elliott to Villa Park.

Redknapp added, “Yeah they do need players. We looked at what Aston Villa have to bring off the bench. They were short, they haven’t got the options. Elliott hasn’t worked out, and he wasn’t on the bench today. Sancho was ill today. So they didn’t have the normal potential to bring players on.”

Redknapp suggested Villa will need to strengthen in midfield because of the injury toll, with McGinn looking likely to spend a spell on the sidelines. The Villans were interested in signing Conor Gallagher from Atletico Madrid but missed out on the Englishman to Tottenham Hotspur.