Aston Villa have announced the appointment of Unai Emery as their new head coach.
The Lions dismissed Steven Gerrard from his post in the wake of their 3-0 loss to Fulham in midweek and have moved quickly to bring ex-Arsenal boss Emery back to the Premier League.
Emery was contracted to Villarreal until 2023, but the 50-year-old was quickly identified as a leading target to succeed Gerrard at Villa Park and has ended his stint with the Yellow Submarine to join the club.
Villa have confirmed that Emery will officially begin his managerial duties on November 1, with the Spaniard still needing to sort out the formalities of his work permit to return to England.
As a result, Emery's first game in charge of Aston Villa could come in their home clash with Manchester United on November 6, and he leaves Villarreal after a spell of two years and three months.
© Reuters
During his time in charge of the Yellow Submarine, Emery steered the club to glory in the 2020-21 Europa League, as they overcame Manchester United on penalties in the final.
Villarreal also endured a magical run to the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, overcoming Bayern Munich and Juventus before becoming unstuck against Liverpool in the final four.
The Yellow Submarine could only post a disappointing seventh-placed finish in the 2021-22 La Liga campaign, and Emery leaves with the club in the same position after 11 games this term.
The 50-year-old departs Villarreal having won 66, drawn 35 and lost 31 of his 132 games in charge, most recently overseeing a 2-1 La Liga win over Almeria on Sunday.
Following spells in charge of Lorca Deportiva, Almeria, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain, Emery was named as Arsene Wenger's successor at Arsenal for the 2018-19 season.
© Reuters
Emery enjoyed a positive start to life in North London, as the Gunners won 11 games in a row between August and October 2018 and went unbeaten in 22 before the Spaniard's tenure got tougher.
Arsenal finished fifth in the 2018-19 Premier League and lost to Chelsea in the Europa League final, but Emery would remain in charge for the start of the 2019-20 season.
However, after overseeing a seven-game winless run in all tournaments, Emery was relieved of his duties at the end of November 2019 to be replaced by Mikel Arteta.
The former Villarreal coach left England having won 25, drawn 13 and lost 13 of his 51 Premier League games in charge of Arsenal, and Aaron Danks will remain in charge for this weekend's clash with Newcastle United.
Danks steered Villa to an emphatic 4-0 win over Brentford in the Lions' first game since Gerrard's sacking - a result which lifted them to 14th in the table.
Ben Knapton
