Unai Emery was appointed Aston Villa head coach on 24 October 2022, replacing Steven Gerrard.

It is the second time he has taken charge of a Premier League club, having been head coach of Arsenal from May 2018 to November 2019.

As a player, Emery spent much of his career in the lower leagues, however, he did appear five times in LaLiga for Real Sociedad during the 1995/96 season.

A knee injury in 2004 would curtail his time on the pitch and following retirement, he would take charge of Lorca Deportiva in the Spanish third division.

After promotion to the second tier and narrowly missing out on a place in LaLiga, Emery would depart in 2006 and enjoy managerial spells with Valencia, Spartak Moscow and Sevilla, winning three successive UEFA Europa League titles with the latter.

More trophies followed during his two years in France with Paris Saint-Germain, including Ligue 1 in 2017/18.

Emery took charge of Arsenal in 2018, with Arsene Wenger departing following 22 years in the dugout.

His time in north London would come to an end in November 2019 and Emery would take over at Villarreal in 2020, winning the Europa League again, this time with a penalty shootout victory over Manchester United.

He returned to the Premier League in October 2022 for the first time in nearly three years.

Emery enjoyed an outstanding season, helping Villa move clear of relegation to finish seventh and secure a UEFA Europa Conference League place for 2023/24.