‘Perfect’: Jamie Carragher says Aston Villa have made a truly ‘great’ decision

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Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher has revealed where he feels Aston Villa should be finish in the Premier League table.

The Premier League icon was speaking on The Overlap Fan Debate Midseason Special Part 2.

Carragher and Neville discussed Villa and new manager Unai Emery on the show.

The Villans appointed Emery as their new head coach in October after sacking Steven Gerrard.

And, in his first match in charge of Villa, he steered the side to a 3-1 victory over Manchester United at Villa Park.

It was the perfect start for Emery as his side beat the Red Devils at B6 in the league for the first time since 1995.

The Spaniard has won four Europa League titles and took Villarreal to the Champions League semi-finals last season.

And in his only full season at Arsenal, Emery won 70 points, still the club’s best tally since 2016-17.

‘Villa is the perfect level for him’

On The Overlap, Carragher and Gary Neville discussed whether they felt Emery is an “elite” manager.

The Liverpool legend doesn’t feel the Villa boss is quite “elite”, but he certainly thinks he’s a “top manager”.

Carragher reckons that Emery’s Europa League pedigree is great for Villa, who should “aspire to be top eight”.

Neville said: “I think at Arsenal, timing and situations weren’t right for him or the club and there was a lot of expectation at Arsenal.

“I think the fact that he’s a big manager… I think he is an elite manager.”

Carragher replied: “It depends what you class as elite, elite might be different for you.

“I think he’s a top manager and I think certain managers are right for different clubs.

“He’s been to Paris Saint Germain and Arsenal and didn’t go particularly well.

“Whereas, he’s had his success with Valencia, Sevilla, going to Villarreal, these teams that are Europa League teams.

“Villa should aspire to be top eight, almost in Europe, that’s where Villa should be.

“They’re the biggest club in the Midlands and you’ve got nobody better if you’re going into that competition.

“So I really do think it is a great appointment, I think Villa is the perfect level for him.”

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Emery is certainly a high-calibre manager who has enjoyed a fruitful and trophy-laden career so far.

No point quibbling over semantics – all that matters is his track record, his methods, and the fact he’s at Villa.

And as far as his spell in claret-and-blue goes – so far, so good.