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BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS BOLD JANUARY PLANS AHEAD OF RECORD-BREAKING ARSENAL SHOWDOWN

Unai Emery confirms Aston Villa will be active this January, balancing finance rules with a dream to win the Champions League.

BREAKING: Unai Emery Reveals Bold January Plans Ahead of Record-Breaking Arsenal Showdown
Emery Confirms Aston Villa Strategy for the January 2026

Unai Emery has made it clear he wants Aston Villa to be active in January, pushing the club to show some ambition so he can try to win the Champions League at Villa Park.

Villa has been surprisingly good this season in the Premier League. If they beat Arsenal, who are currently top of the league, they'll be tied with them and set a new club record of 12 straight wins.

Because of finance rules, Villa can't just spend whatever they want, but Emery still thinks they'll be making moves when the January transfer window opens.

He said, You can dream, right? I have my dreams, and I'm chasing them here. My big dream here, as a coach, is to win the Champions League. I've wanted that my whole life.

Last year, I coached Villarreal when we got to the Champions League quarter-finals, and in 2022, we made it to the semi-finals.

But let's be real. Right now, I'm only dreaming about tomorrow's game. Sure, we can think about how we want to develop the club and where we want to go, but for now, it's all about tomorrow.

Unai Emery wants to add to his Villa squad, who are in the title race after doing so well lately.

When asked about January, Emery said, "We're paying attention, and if we can sign someone who can really help us get better, we will." We can sign players, but we can't spend a ton of money. But we can do something, and we might also let some players leave.

We want to be ambitious and reach our goals. Our goal is to play European football. When I got here a little over three years ago, I wanted a new experience in the Premier League and to build a team that could compete for trophies and play in Europe regularly.

Emery was hired by Arsenal in 2018 but was fired after a year and a half. He's doing much better in his second try at English football, even though he'll be without key players like Boubacar Kamara and Matty Cash for the Arsenal game because they're suspended.

The Spaniard also added some pressure before the game in North London by saying Arsenal are the favorites to win the title. He said, Arsenal is playing at the highest level. They're the favorites for the league because of how they're building their team and getting better at everything.

They signed two players for every position last summer and brought in some really important players. Some players are coming back from injury, like Kai Havertz and Gabriel Jesus.

You can see they're stronger now. It's the biggest test we'll face. We should be proud of how close we are to Manchester City and Arsenal, but we need to stay humble, confident, and ambitious.

VAR REVIEW: CHELSEA 2-2 BOURNEMOUTH, ESTêVãO PENALTY DRAMA EXPLAINED! WAS IT A FOUL OR A DIVE

Explaining the VAR: How an 11th-minute penalty check at Stamford Bridge saved a point for Chelsea against a resilient Bournemouth.

top-news
Antoine Semenyo’s clumsy challenge handed Chelsea a vital lifeline

Every week, the Video Assistant Referee stirs up drama in the Premier League. Let's break down how these calls are made and if they're actually right.

This season, we're digging into the big moments to explain the VAR process and the rules of the game.

What went down: Chelsea's Estêvão was moving into the Bournemouth box, with Antoine Semenyo on his tail. Estêvão went down after some contact with Semenyo. The ref, Barrott, waved off Chelsea's penalty shouts, saying there wasn't a foul. He thought both players made contact naturally as they were running, and Estêvão basically tripped himself.

VAR said, "After looking at it, VAR Pawson suggested Barrott take another look at the monitor for a possible penalty because Semenyo might have tripped Estêvão."

VAR's take: Pawson had to figure out if the contact was just part of the play, like the ref thought, or if Semenyo fouled Estêvão. It was clear Estêvão tripped, but the question was how the contact started.

At first glance, it would be hard for Pawson to disagree with the ref because the main TV angle wasn't clear. But after checking out the sideline and behind views, Pawson saw that Semenyo stepped into Estêvão's path, making enough contact with his leg to cause him to trip.

Pawson told Barrott to check the monitor for a possible penalty. Barrott watched the replays, agreed, and gave Chelsea the penalty.

The call: It was a reasonable VAR call based on today's standards. But it's a borderline case.

Barrott seemed unsure of the monitor and needed some convincing from different angles.

A lot of the time, this kind of contact is just from players running normally, and someone goes down. To give a penalty, there really needs to be a clear foul by the defender. You could say that happened here, but it's a pretty low standard for VAR to get involved.

Chelsea 2-2 AFC Bournemouth

Referee: Sam Barrott

VAR: Craig Pawson

What: VAR check for a foul in the box

When: 11th minute

BREAKING: UNAI EMERY REVEALS THE REAL REASON BEHIND HIS COLD ARTETA HANDSHAKE SNUB NOW

Unai Emery explains why he skipped the post-match handshake as Arsenal’s 4-1 win ends Aston Villa’s 11-game streak at the Emirates.

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Emery snubs Arteta's handshake

Unai Emery said he didn't shake Mikel Arteta's hand right after Aston Villa lost at the Emirates Stadium since the Arsenal manager kept him waiting.

This loss stopped Villa's winning streak at 11 games, their first in almost two months.

Villa held their own in the first half, but Arsenal scored early in the second when Gabriel got to the ball before Emi Martinez on a corner.

Martin Zubimendi quickly made it 2-0, and Leandro Trossard scored a third goal a little after an hour had passed.

Soon after entering the pitch, Gabriel Jesus scored, making it 4-0. Ollie Watkins was able to respond by tapping in a goal late in the game after Donyell Malen's nice play.

After the game, Emery waited to shake Arteta's hand, but he went to the locker room since Arteta was still celebrating with his team.

It’s easy to see. I like to do things fast,” Emery said when asked about why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.

“I shake hands, then I go to the dressing room with my players and coaches. I was waiting.

“Arteta was busy with his coaches, so I went inside. It’s not a big deal for me.”

About the match, Emery commented, “We played great in the first half, and things were going our way. We had corners and defended well. We didn’t let them get a corner in the first half.

“We felt good, but we let in the first goal in the second half. Onana getting hurt didn’t help since he’s important for set pieces and in the midfield.

“We didn’t quit, and we kept playing hard. We scored one goal and almost scored more. Arsenal is the best team in the league and should win the title.

“I’m not sure which day it is since we’ve played Arsenal twice already, and we still have to play Nottingham. But I’m happy with our goals and how we're trying to attain them.

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