‘No way’ – Unai Emery makes bullish Arsenal claim ahead of Aston Villa manager’s return
Aston Villa face Lille in the Europa Conference League quarter-finals on Thursday night before a huge Premier League clash against Arsenal on Sunday
Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has made it crystal clear that his team’s immediate priority is the upcoming Conference League quarter-final first leg against Lille, not the forthcoming Premier League showdown with his former club Arsenal.
Despite the excitement surrounding Villa’s first European quarter-final in over two decades and the significant Premier League encounter with Arsenal just around the corner, Emery’s attention is firmly fixed on Lille’s visit to Villa Park.
When questioned about whether the Arsenal match would influence his team selection for Thursday’s game, Emery was resolute, stating: “No way.
“We are speaking about the match tomorrow in the Europa Conference League, we are not thinking about the match we are going to play. No way, it is not good for us or for me or everybody. I want to focus on the match tomorrow only.”
The league fixture is set to be an important one for both sides. The Gunners sit top of the Premier League but have little room to drop points between now and the end of the season with title rivals Liverpool and Manchester City breathing down their necks. For Aston Villa, meanwhile, they fell behind Tottenham in their battle to qualify for the Champions League and have played a game more than Ange Postecoglou’s side.
In a move that underscores the importance of the fixture, the French Football Federation has postponed Lille’s domestic game to ensure they are fully prepared for the second leg against Villa.
Emery is aware of the challenge posed by a well-prepared Lille side, but remains focused on the experience and competitiveness his squad can gain from such matches.
“We are having experiences and that is the most important, trying to be competitive and be successful,” he said. “We are excited and we wanted to have the opportunity we have in front of us.
“In the quarter-final of Conference League it is very important to focus in this way because everything we did before in getting to the quarter-final, trying to enjoy the moment we have.
“They are focusing on this competition and this quarter-final, not playing between the two matches in the French Ligue 1.
“They are fourth in the league and they are focusing. They have good players with experience in Europe. They have a good coach in (Paulo) Fonseca, who I respect. They are a very competitive team and a tactically very good coach.
“I think we have a really good squad, really good team with enough players to 100 per cent each game, both competitions,” he continued. “We are working on it, I think this week is a hard week, a tough week, we need to go game-to-game and keep fighting.
“Now for me, both competitions are so, so important. We want to leave with our supporters after 26 years a quarter-final at home and we want to play another game in front of them so it means we will be in a semi-final.
“We are working on it. This month and a half is the most important and we need every player focused on it.”
