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Aston Villa manager Unai Emery has praised Arsenal for the season they are having, but the former Gunners boss has warned Mikel Arteta that he plans to win the Premier League title with the Villans.<\/p>\n
Arsenal<\/strong> have reached the final of the Champions League this season and will face 2024\/25 European champions, Paris Saint-Germain.<\/p>\n The Gunners are also set to win the Premier League title for the first time since 2004.<\/p>\n Arsenal have a five-point lead over Manchester City at the top of the table.<\/p>\n Man City, though, have a game in hand, but Arsenal still have the destiny in their own hands.<\/p>\n Like Liverpool, Aston Villa<\/strong>too, are having a wonderful campaign, with the Villans assured of a place in the Premier League top five.<\/p>\n Emery<\/strong> has also guided Villa to the final of the Europa League, where they will face German club Freiburg.<\/p>\n Ahead of the final on Wednesday evening, Emery has given an extensive interview to AS<\/span><\/em>where he has spoken about his former club Arsenal and his desire to eventually win the Premier League title.<\/p>\n The Spaniard credited Arsenal\u2019s \u201ctremendous\u201d season and wants Villa to eventually get ahead of the Gunners and Man City and win the title.<\/p>\n READ: Liverpool maintains place as biggest club in England with huge kit launch plan<\/strong><\/p>\n Emery said about leading Villa to the Champions League for the second time since his arrival at Villa Park: \u201cThank you, yes. The truth is, I\u2019m satisfied with the progress we\u2019re making.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Premier League is very demanding. We\u2019re competing with the teams that are considered favourites to be at the top.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re seeing Arsenal having a tremendous season, and Manchester City, who have dominated the Premier League for the last few years and played at a very high level, so competing against them is very demanding.<\/p>\n \u201cThen we have Manchester United, Liverpool, Tottenham, Chelsea, Newcastle\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cYou could say they\u2019re the seven main teams, and this is the fourth year we\u2019ve been able to compete with them, finishing above some of them, and in Europe, in the Champions League.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m really satisfied, but at the same time, I feel a lot of pressure to maintain this.<\/p>\n \u201cIt hasn\u2019t been easy. At the beginning, I was worried.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the first month and the first five games, being in last place, I got worried. I even thought about relegation.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE: Arsenal make new approach for fiery \u00a352m captain but Man Utd \u2018lead race\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n The Villa manager continued: \u201cThe merit we have, or that we must establish, is being able to repeat it over time.<\/p>\n \u201cTen years ago, there was a team like Leicester City that won the league here, above all those other teams. This year, unfortunately, they\u2019ve been relegated to League One.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, we at Aston Villa, with this project I joined, along with Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens (owners of the V Sports group), came to be able to grow sustainably and maintain our position.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s what gives me the most satisfaction right now: being a team capable of competing naturally with the big teams these past few years.<\/p>\n \u201cClose to Arsenal and Manchester City without quite reaching them, and close to Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham, and Newcastle, but even above them.<\/p>\n \u201cThe next step, if we can be consistent, would be to be able to do something similar to what Leicester did, or come close. But with sustainability in mind.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s the Aston Villa project, the one that demands the most, earns the most recognition, and carries the greatest responsibility.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s something I\u2019ve felt since we arrived here three and a half years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n When asked about winning the Premier League title with Villa, Emery said: \u201cWe have to set ourselves dreams and make those dreams a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing here might have been a dream when I arrived three and a half years ago, and now it\u2019s a reality.<\/p>\n \u201cBeing able to reach Europe, reach the Champions League, play in the Champions League quarterfinals, play in a Europa League final like we\u2019re going to\u2026<\/p>\n \u201cAnd also being able to be in those privileged positions in the league. We had two years, until December, where we were able to compete with Arsenal and Manchester City.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did it two years ago and we did it again this year\u2026 until December!<\/p>\n \u201cLogically, given the potential of Arsenal and Manchester City, we haven\u2019t been able to maintain that level.<\/p>\n \u201cI will continue working so that we can keep improving the team, keep improving our competitive level, and so that we can stay close to Arsenal and Manchester City for longer. That\u2019s my goal.<\/p>\n \u201cIn football, the goal of being able to compete at those levels is also to be able to compete for titles.<\/p>\n \u201cSo, the title we\u2019re going to compete for, the first final that we\u2019re going to compete in the Europa League, something we\u2019ve been doing since we arrived here at Aston Villa.<\/p>\n \u201cIt makes us proud and also gives us a sense of reality. The reality of the moment and of our growth.\u201d<\/p>\n MAILBOX: Chelsea and Xabi Alonso an \u2018odd match\u2019 as Klopp comparison made<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/div>\nUnai Emery on Arsenal and Aston Villa<\/strong><\/h2>\n