The current Aston Villa manager guided the Gunners for a year-and-a-half five years ago but insisted getting one over on Arsenal was not his motivation for Sunday’s 2-0 victory at the Emirates

Unai Emery was in no mood to stick the boot in to ex-side Arsenal after current outfit Aston Villa enjoyed a shock 2-0 win at the Emirates on Sunday.

The Villa boss spent 18 months at the helm of the Gunners from May 2018 until he was sacked from his post in November 2019 after a particularly dismal run of form. Just shy of three years on from his Arsenal dismissal, the Spaniard returned to the Premier League to succeed Steven Gerrard at Villa Park.

Emery has established himself as a firm fan favourite among the Villa faithful, transforming the club’s fortunes and guiding them to Champions League qualification contenders. As things stand, it remains up in the air whether fifth-place in the Premier League will be enough to secure a place in European club football’s most prestigious competition next term.

In turn, those vying for qualification should be aiming for fourth to be on the safe side and it is Emery’s side who currently occupy it. They even boast a three-point advantage over nearest challengers Tottenham, but have played one game more than the north Londoners.