Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins has shared one thing he’s learning from Unai Emery.
The summer has been incredibly busy at Aston Villa in preparation for the upcoming 2024/25 campaign.
After securing Champions League football, the Midlands club will be eager to continue their progression with Unai Emery at the helm.
From encouraging a higher level of performance to putting his stamp on the club, the Spaniard has impacted most associated with Villa in his short time in B6.
Ollie Watkins explains Unai Emery tactic he’s benefitted from at Aston Villa
The player who has arguably been impacted the most by Emery’s arrival is Ollie Watkins.
Watkins was on just three goals for the 2022/23 Premier League season when the Spaniard arrived, and has since netted 31 in the league thanks to the manager’s guidance.
Earlier this summer, the Englishman commented on what Emery has implemented to his game at Villa when speaking on the High Performance podcast.
An interesting segment from the episode came as Watkins shared one tactic he’s learned from the boss.
Host Damian Hughes mentioned Emery’s positive stance at all times, to which Watkins responded:
“It’s something that I’ve kind of used to help me personally by just taking each game step by step and looking at how far we’ve come.
“I think we were 2-0 up against Chelsea not long ago and they ended up coming back and drawing 2-2.
“Everyone was mad after the game but I kind of looked at it as a positive and thought 18 months ago, if we got a draw against Chelsea we would’ve been over the moon and now we’re furious that we haven’t beat them, so it just shows how far the club have come.”
Being able to notice areas for improvement in football is a must however, Emery has proven that it’s just as useful to recognise progression.
Watkins recognises the journey Villa are on
Since signing in 2020 from Brentford, Watkins has experienced the lows of finishing 14th with Steven Gerrard, to the highs of qualifying for the Champions League.
Not only has the striker progressed with the team, but has taken himself to new heights under Emery, as highlighted by the 40 goals he contributed to in 2023/24.
Despite now being a valued international player and a striker about to play in the Champions League, it’s clear that Watkins is strapped in for the ride that comes with Villa’s journey to success.
The past two seasons have been remarkable for the club, echoing the striker’s words on the podcast as he took time to reflect on the steps Villa have taken with Emery.
