Paul Scholes has warned Unai Emery of a problem Aston Villa will face as they compete in the Champions League this season.
It is sure to be another exciting season for Aston Villa, with Unai Emery looking to navigate the Champions League alongside what will hopefully be another successful domestic campaign.
In order to get his squad ready to compete on all fronts, Emery has seen eight arrivals at Villa Park this summer, with the likes of Ian Maatsen, Amadaou Onana and Samuel Iling-Junior all notable arrivals.
However, it has not all been smooth sailing for Emery in his squad building this summer as Douglas Luiz was sold to Juventus for PSR reasons and Moussa Diaby swapped England for Saudi Arabia after just one season.
Emery has a big challenge ahead of him as he looks to balance elite European competition with the rigours of the Premier League, something Paul Scholes knows all about.
Paul Scholes thinks squad size will be an issue for Aston Villa in Champions League
Scholes enjoyed an incredible career at Manchester United, where he won 11 Premier League titles, two Champions Leagues, four FA Cups and two League Cups.
He did this whilst playing for arguably the biggest club in the world, but Villa may face slightly more difficulty in their bid to challenge in four competitions.
That is the view of Scholes, who said win The Overlap’s Fan Debate ahead of the new season: “I think the big worry for Villa will be squad size.
“You think about Newcastle last year – you talk about teams having to play the same team – they went through a spell where they had horrific injuries.
“[They had] the same ten or 11 players playing every week and they were just shot to pieces.”
Aston Villa better prepared for Champions League than Newcastle were
Scholes makes a valid point.
Whilst Villa did play in the Europa Conference League last season – getting to the semi-final – they were able to rotate their side early in the competition as they faced inferior opposition.
There are no easy games in the Champions League, though, so Emery will not be afforded the same luxury.
- READ MORE: Ollie Watkins says he has adopted Unai Emery tactic key to Aston Villa’s Champions League success
The comparison to Newcastle is one that is naturally going to be made as both sides are not usually in the competition, but Villa are better equipped to take on Europe’s elite.
Not only do they have a manager that has seen it all in Europe in four-time Europa League winner Emery, but they also have a much better squad than Newcastle had in their voyage into the competition last season.
The Magpies had a strong starting XI but the drop-off in quality when they picked up injuries was enormous as their rebuild has not extended too far past the starting line-up at this stage.
The same cannot be said for Villa, who have at least two good options in almost every position and could still strengthen further this summer.
