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Can Emery do it again? Player churn leaves Spaniard facing greatest Villa challenge

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BRIGHTON, Aug 22 : Unai Emery has proven time and again at his various clubs that he can deliver even after his crown jewels are sold on from under his nose but the rebuilding challenge he now faces at Aston Villa might be his biggest so far.

The Spaniard watched aghast on Sunday as Europa League winners Villa were dismantled 4-0 in their Premier League opener at Brighton and Hove Albion.

A surprising result on paper perhaps, but Villa fans who made the trip to the south coast might have feared the worst.

Only five of the players that started the Europa League final against Freiburg on that memorable night in Istanbul in May, began the match at Brighton.

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England duo Morgan Rogers and Ezri Konsa have joined Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, Lucas Digne has gone to Paris St Germain and Youri Tielemans is now a Manchester United player.

It could get worse too with striker Ollie Watkins left out on Sunday with his Villa future in doubt.

Villa also sold some of their prime assets ahead of last season yet Emery’s side still finished fourth and claimed the club’s first European title for 44 years.

The endless player churn has become a recurring theme of Villa’s rise under Emery. Yet while previous overhauls have been absorbed without derailing progress, the scale of this summer’s departures leaves far greater uncertainty over whether Villa can remain among England’s elite.

Not that he was complaining about the cards he has been dealt on Sunday – vowing instead to forge another team capable of challenging English soccer’s elite.

“We know, we had it before here. We had it in different moments. In four years we had it maybe five times in different circumstances,” Emery told Sky Sports.

“But we are going forward, moving always forward. My responsibility is to try to analyse, to find solutions and for the transfer window we have 10 days to find solutions, and we have then of course a way to find solutions with the players we have and we are doing that.

“We always recover and came back from situations like that and I’m confident we will now.”

Emery also pointed to the fact that after five Premier League games last season they had three points and had scored one goal.

“Hopefully this season can go the same way as that,” the former Valencia, Sevilla, Paris St Germain, Arsenal and Villarreal coach, said.

Emery offered a cryptic response to questions about the future of England striker Watkins when asked why he was missing from the match-day squad.

“Ask him. I only can answer it by silence,” he said.

Things began to unravel for Villa after eight minutes when Victor Lindelof scored into his own net.

Maxim De Cuyper turned in a cross by Georginio Rutter after 18 minutes before Jack Hinshelwood’s quick-fire brace before halftime left Villa reeling.

That was not even the worst of it as new signing Joao Gomes kicked out an opponent and was sent off.

While Villa will have to dust themselves down, it was the perfect start for Brighton who have also had to contend with the loss of high-calibre players such as Jan Paul van Hecke and Danny Welbeck.

“We need every player,” manager Fabian Hurzeler said. “We will always get young players in full of potential, it’s up to us to develop them. It was a positive start so let’s keep pushing them.”

Source: Reuters

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