Aston Villa appoint Steven Gerrard replacement as former Arsenal boss takes charge

Aston Villa have appointed former Arsenal boss Unai Emery as the club’s new head coach.

The 50-year-old Spaniard succeeds Steven Gerrard, who was sacked following Villa’s 3-0 Premier League defeat against Fulham last week.

Gerrard led Villa to a 14th place finish last term after leaving Rangers to take over from Dean Smith in November, but managed just two wins in 11 league outings this season.

Villa responded to Gerrard’s sacking by beating Brentford 4-0 on Sunday under the guidance of caretaker boss Aaron Danks.

Unai Emery has replaced former Rangers boss Steven Gerrard at Aston Villa. (Photo by Alex Caparros/Getty Images)

Emery joins from Villareal, whom he guided to the Champions League semi-finals last season after winning the Europa League by defeating Manchester United in the final the season before.

He also enjoyed notable success at Sevilla, winning three successive Europa League titles between 2013 and 2016 before going on to lift a Ligue 1 championship in France as well as two French Cups, two French League Cups and two Trophée des Champions with Paris Saint-German.

It will be Emery’s second Premier League stint after managing Arsenal for 18 months before he was dismissed following a seven-match losing run.

Emery was due to be out of contract with Villarreal at the end of this season.

It has been reported that Villa will pay a buy-out fee to the LaLiga club of around £5million.

Villa said that Emery will take over from November 1 after work permit formalities are completed.