Aston Villa have improved significantly as a club thanks to the work of Unai Emery, with one area of the Spaniard’s impact making a fool of Steven Gerrard’s tactics.
Unai Emery has had a stellar time at Aston Villa after taking charge back in 2022, driving the club to new heights on his return to the Premier League.
In his first full season at the club, the Spaniard fired his players to a fourth-place finish, bringing Champions League football back to Villa Park as the squad raised the bar to distances beyond the mediocrity that the side had become used to.
It was remarkable work from Emery, who took charge of Steven Gerrard’s side when they were sat down in 16th in the Premier League table, changing the club’s outlook with his refreshing approach.
Improving the squad and setting higher ambitions wasn’t the only thing that the former Arsenal boss proved to be better than Gerrard at, as the strengthening of two key players has seen Emery make a mockery of the Englishman’s time at Villa Park.
Steven Gerrard mismanaged Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins at Aston Villa
Two of Villa’s most dangerous players over the 2023/24 campaign were Leon Bailey and Ollie Watkins, who contributed to a mammoth 51 of Villa’s goals in the Premier League with either a goal or an assist.
Not many would have anticipated that the duo would hit such heights prior to Emery’s arrival, as Gerrard failed to get anywhere near such levels out of the two forwards.
Miraculously, Bailey only netted two Premier League goals during Gerrard’s reign, as his form was inconsistent and injury issues plagued the Jamaican.
A similar narrative can be said of Watkins, who scored only 11 goals in the league under Gerrard’s guidance, netting only two in the 2022/23 campaign before Emery arrived to save the day.
After the Englishman’s departure, the goals flowed for the 28-year-old, who went on to score 13 goals from the point of Emery’s arrival in October to the end of the season.
A lot of Gerrard’s mishaps in managing the two players were his tactics that lacked conviction, with Villa stalling in the final third when it came to creating chances.
As relayed by Sky Sports, Villa had an expected goal tally of just 4.24xG in the opening month of the 2022/23 campaign, telling of how restricted the two forwards were under the former Rangers boss’ stale tactics.
Unai Emery has got the best out of Ollie Watkins and Leon Bailey
A combination of switching tactics and restoring confidence has transformed the outlook of both Bailey and Watkins at Villa, with both players moving from being regarded as average to some of the Premier League’s best.
Over the 2023/24 season, the pair ranked level with Manchester City duo Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne when it came to combining for a goal.
As per WhoScored, Bailey assisted Watkins four times, with Watkins returning the favour four times also, identical numbers to the amount De Bruyne assisted Haaland.
Now a free-scoring and highly threatening pair, Emery has seen some of Villa’s best attacking play stem from the winger and the striker, showcasing just how fundamental the Spaniard’s arrival was to their Villa careers.
Placing a lot of emphasis on utilising Bailey to pin defenders 1v1 on the flank has seen the manager get the best out of the Jamaican, seeing his confidence rise and his numbers follow.
Under Gerrard for the most part of the 2021/22 campaign, Bailey averaged 0.7 successful dribbles per game, an average that rocketed to 1.6 per game over 2023/24 under Emery, via Sofascore.
As for Watkins, the Spaniard has installed a new level of belief and trust in the striker, seeing him become an all-rounder in attack, adding goals and assists to his game thanks to the chances Villa now create under Emery’s positive system.
Villa’s entire squad has changed as a result of the former Arsenal boss’ tactics, seeing Gerrard’s spell at Villa Park amount to something wholly underwhelming in comparison.
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