Dean Smith reveals brilliant Unai Emery story and makes Aston Villa admission
Aston Villa news from BirminghamLive as Dean Smith praises Unai Emery in exclusive Telegraph interview
Dean Smith admits he takes great pride in watching many of the players he signed for Aston Villa exceling under Unai Emery.
In an interview with the Telegraph, Smith spoke glowingly of the job Emery has performed at Villa Park over the last year. After securing European football last term, Villa are now threatening to bid for a top four finish and going in search of their first trophy since 1996.
Only Premier League champions Manchester City and current league leaders Arsenal have won more points than Villa this calendar year, while Emery has also made Villa Park a fortress. Ahead of back-to-back home matches against City and Arsenal, Villa have won their last 13 league games at headquarters.
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Before Villa’s 4-1 win over West Ham, Emery greeted Smith, who was working for Sky Sports summarising the match, and said “Thank you for everything” as they shook hands.
“It was a really nice touch from Unai and completely unexpected,” Smith told the Telegraph. “I’d come across him before, when I did my study visit for my Pro Licence at Valencia, and we played Arsenal a couple of times, in pre-season and in the League Cup, when I was at Brentford.
“We had a good chat after the League Cup game and I actually asked if I could go and see what he was doing at Arsenal. He joked, ‘The way your team is playing, I think I should come in and see you’, so there has always been that mutual respect. I didn’t get the chance to go and see him again at Arsenal because not long after I got the Villa job.
“I look at the spine Unai usually goes for (at Villa) and I’m quite proud of the fact it’s Emi Martínez, Ezri Konsa, John McGinn, who Steve Bruce signed but played really well for me, Douglas Luiz and Ollie Watkins.”