Unai Emery has said that if there is one Premier League legend he would love to have in his current Aston Villa team, it would be David Silva.
In an interview with the Premier League on their official YouTube channel, the former Villareal boss briefly heaped praise on Silva.
Even Mikel Arteta hailed his fellow countryman as “one of the best players” he has ever seen play the beautiful game.
Unai Emery says he would have loved David Silva in his Aston Villa team
The Spanish maestro is a hero to many, with Martin Odegaard naming him as one of his major idols growing up.
Alexander Isak, who shared a dressing room with him at Real Sociedad said that the 37-year-old was “amazing to play with” and emphasised how several players should try to learn how he positions his body before receiving the ball.
As Unai Emery is having a belter of a campaign with Aston Villa, he said that David Silva is the Premier League legend he would have loved to have at his disposal at Villa Park.
“David Silva, because he was magic”, he said on the Premier League’s official YouTube channel.
David Silva would have been brilliant under the Spanish tactician
Considering David Silva is associated with his elegant playing style, perhaps some would feel that a player like him is the antithesis of the industrious philosophy Unai Emery has instilled at Aston Villa.
However, this very assumption would be a case of misremembering the World Cup winner’s transformation into a pest in the centre of midfield during his time under Pep Guardiola.
Under Guardiola, while Silva was given the freedom to be his graceful self, his pressing and defensive work rate went up several notches as he added yet another feather to his game.
The ex-Valencia maestro would do the same under Unai Emery while being able to either play in the middle of the park or in John McGinn’s hybrid role as a left-winger who joins in midfield.
The beauty of David Silva was that whether it be for club or country, or for a team dominating at the top or trying to make Champions League football, he remained effortlessly outstanding throughout.
