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English soccer's perceptions of Unai Emery are starting to change as Aston Villa soars up the Premier League standings. Emery's only other spell in England was with Arsenal for 18 months in 2018-19. He was placed in an almost impossible situation as the successor to longtime manager Arsene Wenger and the face of a club going through upheaval behind the scenes as it adapted to a status outside the Premier League's elite. Emery is working more in the shadows at Villa but its progress can no longer be ignored. Villa has jumped from 16th to seventh since Emery's arrival in November and only Arsenal and Manchester City have collected more points in that time.
