Unai Emery interview branded ‘one of the oddest ever’ after Aston Villa lose to Everton

Jamie Redknapp and Ashley Young were left scratching their heads over Unai Emery’s painfully awkward post-match interview following Aston Villa’s 1-0 defeat at home to Everton.

Emery’s men had the chance to go second in the Premier League table with victory at Villa Park, with both Arsenal and Manchester City dropping points earlier in the weekend.

But the hosts slipped up and produced one of their most disappointing performances of the season, with Thierno Barry’s sublime dinked finish proving the difference between the two teams.

While Evann Guessand headed against the the woodwork, Villa offered very little else by way of response in Sunday’s contest – and it could have been worse for the home team had Jake O’Brien’s early goal not been ruled out for offside.

The result means Arsenal finish the weekend with an imperious seven-point lead over their two nearest rivals, with Pep Guardiola’s City sitting above third-placed Villa on goal difference after 22 games.

Villa will hope to bounce back against Newcastle at St James’ Park next weekend having dropped points in three of their last four matches in the English top flight.

Speaking to Sky Sports shortly after the final whistle, a gloomy Emery declared that his side were ‘not top five contenders’ after their poor recent form.

‘We are not contender to be in the top five. We are still not being contenders,’ the Villa head coach said.

‘There are other teams with more potential than us.’

Asked what it would take for Villa to be considered top-five contenders, Emery bizarrely replied: ‘Because there are other teams with more potential than us.’

When pushed further for an explanation, the Spaniard refused to answer while looking at the ground. The former Arsenal and Sevilla manager then stared down matchday reporter Pien Meulensteen before walking out of shot.

When the broadcast cut back to the Sky Sports studio, host Mark Chapman said Emery seemed to be ‘seething about something’ without being able to put his finger on the source of his anger.

Redknapp and Young, meanwhile, appeared completely baffled by Emery’s ‘weird’ and ‘odd’ demeanour.

‘He looked really angry,’ ex-Villa and England winger Young said.

‘It could be the injuries, another one added to the list with John McGinn and missing Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana.

‘Is it the loss of Donyell Malen? Is it him speaking out to say to the owners that I need more players.

‘It was a weird interview. You think he’d speak more about the game and the missed opportunity to close the gap on Arsenal. To say there are five teams with more potential, it was weird.’

Former Liverpool midfielder Redknapp added: ‘It was certainly one of the oddest interviews I have ever seen. The bit at the end, when he goes quiet. It was a very sensible question.

‘I don’t know what he is trying to allude to. I guess he is just genuinely devastated with that performance and result. They do need players.

‘We looked at what they have on the bench, they were short. They haven’t got the options. Harvey Elliott hasn’t worked out and wasn’t on the bench, Jadon Sancho was ill.

‘It looks like Boubacar Kamara is going to be out for a long time and John McGinn has a problem with his knee. They will need to strengthen in that midfield area.’

According to Redknapp, Arsenal were gifted a big let-off after Villa ‘blew an incredible opportunity’ to apply some ‘real pressure’ at the top.

They couldn’t have started any worse, obviously Everton hit the post in the first few minutes and you thought that might wake them up, get them going,’ he said of Villa’s limp performance.

‘Then you lose John McGinn and they have blown an incredible opportunity to put some real pressure on Arsenal.

‘They didn’t have the capabilities in any area today and the individuals that can bail them out and they weren’t at their best.

‘It was a really, really tough afternoon for Aston Villa, they just never got it going at all.

‘Maybe that’s a little bit of pressure, they obviously didn’t have some of their players.’

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