Speaking ahead of Aston Villa's fixture against Manchester City and following the 2-1 defeat to Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League, Unai Emery praised Harvey Elliott's attitude and work rate in training but admitted his performances have not yet reached the level required.

Unai Emery celebrated his three-year anniversary at Aston Villa this week. The Spaniard has enjoyed considerable success as manager, steering the club away from relegation trouble in his first season and even securing European qualification just months after his arrival.

The result saw Villa suffer their first defeat in nine games across all competitions (W5 D3), having come into Thursday's match on a five-game winning streak

Quite how Aston Villa lost this encounter from a position of such authority and on the back of a five-match winning run, in all competitions, will be a concern to Unai Emery. For much of the first half the Spaniard watched his players fail to take advantage of opportunities to put the game beyond opponents who sit 12th in the Dutch top flight.

Harvey Elliott has made only two starts since moving to Aston Villa on loan from Liverpool and it appears would currently not be forthcoming under Unai Emery

Monchi has stepped down from his role as President of Football Operations at Villa Park, with Roberto Olabe replacing him in September 2025. Prior to his exit, he worked closely with Unai Emery and recently revealed he nearly brought Marco Asensio back to Aston Villa after a loan spell during the 2024/25 season.

Before Sunday's match, Aston Villa boss Unai Emery admitted Morgan Rogers had not been "performing very well, not confident" at the start of the campaign, but said he was "getting better and feeling confident".

Aston Villa manager Unai Emery discusses the tactical change happening in football right now – and why Thomas Franks Tottenham highlight that shift ahead of the Premier League meeting between the two teams on Super Sunday;

Harvey Elliott was an unused substitute for Aston Villa yesterday as Unai Emery's side lost at Go Ahead Eagles in the Europa League — and he has struggled for match action since leaving Liverpool. Up to now,

Can Unai Emery keep Aston Villa on track domestically, or is Europe threatening to derail their season, just as it kick-started it?