Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has written his name in golden letters in the history of English football. The Spanish specialist became the 9th fastest manager to reach the 100-win mark in the Premier League, after doing so in his 197th match in the championship.
The anniversary triumph was sealed with Aston Villa's valuable 1-0 success as a guest of Newcastle at the courageous stadium „St. James's Park“.
„I hope I have the opportunity to manage another 100 Premier League matches and win them! But in football sometimes you win, sometimes you don't," the Spanish tactician commented modestly and with a smile on his achievement.
Emery's achievement takes on even greater value, given the huge personnel change at the Birmingham club during the summer transfer window. Aston Villa made outgoing transfers worth 365.25 million euros, parting with key figures such as Ezri Konsa, Youri Tielemans, Morgan Rodgers and top scorer Olly Watkins.
Despite the serious reshuffle of the squad, the "Villans" have won four of their last five matches in all competitions, highlighted by a crushing 6-0 win over Turkish giants Fenerbahce in the Champions League group stage.
Emery's work has not gone unnoticed by football experts in England. Former international and current TV pundit Jamie Redknapp expressed his strong admiration for the Spaniard:
“Despite the huge transformation the team has had to go through, nothing seems to have changed. That speaks to the genius of their manager. Emery is absolute class.“
Only eight managers in the history of the Premier League have reached the 100-win mark in fewer games (including Pep Guardiola, Jose Mourinho, Jurgen Klopp, Alex Ferguson and Mikel Arteta).