Manchester City’s Pep Guardiola is easily the best manager in the world.
That easily translates to him being the top coach in the English Premier League.
The Spaniard has not just influenced upcoming tacticians with his contemporary tweaks in structure and formations, he is regarded as a genius by rivals.
So also are his countrymen – Mikel Arteta and Unai Emery – who both are Basque.
While Arteta only has an FA Cup and two Community Shields to his name, Emery’s record is impressive.
Emery won three successive UEFA Europa League titles with Sevilla and more trophies followed during his two years with Paris Saint-Germain in France.
It was enough for Arsenal to appoint him as Arsene Wenger’s successor in 2018. Things didn’t go well for him at the Emirates and he was sacked in November 2019.
His successor? Arteta.
Arteta has breathed new life into Arsenal as a football club and they have steadily fought their way back into reckoning.
Last year, they led for 248 days at the top of the Premier League, before Manchester City did what Manchester City do at the business end of the season.
Ahead of Villa vs Arsenal this Saturday, both Emery and Arteta have begun the campaign in fine start.
Villa’s 1-0 win over City in midweek was not just epic, it was their 14th successive victory at home. They also overtook the champions and now sit in third place.
The Gunners occupy the top spot and are the last team to win at Villa Park.
This will be one of those games you want to sit through the entire 90-plus minutes. It will be a clash of two in-form teams, a tactical battle of the best Spaniards and a fight to be accepted as genuine title contenders.
EPL: Aston Villa vs Arsenal – A battle to Basque in (A preview)
