Unai Emery continues to prove why he is such a popular figure with the Aston Villa supporters.
Sunday’s 2-0 win at Arsenal was one of the best since Emery took charge of Aston Villa and a massive boost to the team’s top-four hopes.
When the trophy-winning manager first took charge of the Midlands side, the team was hovering above the Premier League’s relegation zone and individual players were struggling.
From the sleep-walking style of play, constant defeats at home, individual players just not performing to moving backwards rather than looking up.
It was looking bleak and Steven Gerrard was rightfully booted out, You imagine where certain players would be now if he had stayed.
At the time, Ollie Watkins only had one Premier League goal for the campaign and he was looking a shadow of himself.
The debut Premier League campaign from the £28 million signing went strong, he scored 14 goals, but after scoring 11 the following season, the question marks started coming out once Dean Smith had left.
But as Michael Owen touched upon, Watkins has made ‘huge, huge improvement’ under Emery and now has a ‘great all-round game’, as he told Premier League Productions (15/04/24).
After scoring at Arsenal over the weekend, the 28-year-old has taken his Premier League goals tally for the season to 19.
Added to that, he has provided ten assists and he is chasing down that Golden Boot, with Erling Haaland and Cole Palmer one ahead of him.
Former Liverpool striker Owen knows what it’s like picking up that individual honour and he is backing Watkins to win it outright in May.
Ollie Watkins for the Golden Boot
“19 in the Premier League,” said Owen. “I have said on this programme many times that this is a guy that can really improve and can score more and more goals.
“I have seen a huge, huge improvement in his game in recent years and there is no reason why he can’t even go on and win a Golden Boot or have a regular run in the England team. He is definitely improving with age, as he said himself.
“I did chat with him in the summer, I am not taking any credit, but he is doing it naturally. He has got a great all-round game, his touch is improving, he is a real strong runner and he is direct.”
Aston Villa in the Europa Conference League
As mentioned above, Watkins still has a lot of improving to do, even though he has made such strides during the past 18 months.
One of them includes helping Aston Villa win the Europa Conference League.
Before a ball was kicked, Villa were the favourites to win it outright and we should now get the job done in Lille on Thursday night.
That one-goal advantage should have been a lot more from the first leg, but it’s still an advantage and if we score in France, then there is no reason why it won’t be enough for the team to get through.
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