Unai Emery declared Aston Villa are “not top five contenders” in a bizarre interview following their 1-0 defeat to Everton.
Villa missed the chance to put pressure on Arsenal in the Premier League title race as they ended the day as they started it; seven points behind the Gunners, who drew 0-0 with Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Emery cut a frustrated figure in his post-match interview with Sky Sports, giving one-word answers and even falling silent when asked about why he feels Villa can’t compete with teams at the top of the Premier League.
He said: “We are not contender to be in the top five. We are still not being contenders.
“There are other teams with more potential than us.”
When cutting back to the studio, pundit and former Villa player Ashley Young labelled the interview “weird” and Jamie Redknapp was equally bemused, regarding Emery’s demeaner as “odd.”
FREE TO WATCH: Highlights from Everton’s win against Aston Villa in the Premier League
Young said: “He looked really angry. It could be the injuries, another one added to the list with John McGinn and missing Boubacar Kamara and Amadou Onana.
“Is it the sale 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.”
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.”
Timing of Malen exit questioned
The decision by Aston Villa to sanction Donyell Malen’s transfer to Roma this week was called into question.
The deal is an initial loan with an option to buy and went through ahead of this weekend’s Premier League games.
Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers endured tough afternoons at Villa Park and Emery’s options on the bench limited.
Speaking on co-commentary, Sky Sports’ Chris Sutton said: “The one thing I don’t quite get… Malen may always have been going to Roma, but why sell him this early in the month when you haven’t got a replacement?
“He impacted a lot of games for Villa this season.”
It was a point Sky Sports’ Redknapp picked up on after full-time.
“Malen leaving in midweek felt a really strange decision when you’re looking at the subs bench, they didn’t have the options today,” he said.
