MATCH OF THE DAY PUNDITS AGREE THAT ASTON VILLA WILL 'CAUSE PROBLEMS' AS EMERY POINT MADE

Aston Villa booked their place in European competition for the first time in 13 years on Sunday as they overcame Brighton at Villa Park to record their seventh straight home win at the end of the campaign and claim the Europa Conference League place for next season.

It means that Unai Emery will, for the 15th consecutive season of his managerial career, will be leading a team into a European tournament, having guided Villa from the lower reaches of the Premier League table and up into the upper echelons, above Tottenham and Chelsea.

The BBC Sport pundits on Match of the Day, Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer and Ian Wright, all recognised the Villans' rise and achievement in booking their place in the Europa Conference League for next term, and Wright - having showered praise on player of the year Douglas Luiz - thinks that, after a summer of recruitment, Villa can cause more problems for the top flight elite.

READ: The player ratings in full from Villa Park after they secure European ticket

READ: Aston Villa receive transfer instruction after Unai Emery guides club to Europe

Gary Lineker: They're two of the teams of the season, no question about that. Both are in Europe. Unai Emery since he joined in November, I mean look at that record. What a job he's done!

Ian Wright: Unbelievable, and you can see the improvement in the players. He's somebody who...I read an interview recently with John McGinn, who was talking about how meticulous he is, about how they know exactly what they're doing, everyone know their job. Even when they go behind in games, they've just got to stick to what they're doing because he's such a meticulous worker.

Lineker : He's a winner of European trophies as well...

Wright : Exactly. I think Douglas Luiz is a very good example of someone who has massively improved. He's been fantastic. He's a good player as it is, but his numbers since he's worked under Unai Emery are fantastic. John McGinn, Tyrone Mings have been fantastic. We've seen Ollie Watkins as well doing fantastic stuff, but what Luiz has added to his game has proven to be very, very valuable to Villa.

We saw before Unai got there that it wasn't really happening, but what he has done now under Unai...unfortunately under Stevie it wasn't really working out, but now he's gone to another level. If they can add in the summer, Villa, and keep playing the way they are, they're going to cause a lot of problems.

Alan Shearer: Konsa, Watkins...Wrighty is correct in what he says about how he's improved players, massively.

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2023-05-29T12:00:42Z dg43tfdfdgfd