“Deliberately breaking him down” – Alejandro Garnacho’s short game time at Aston Villa vs Viking sparks interesting Unai Emery idea
A fan has shared an interesting idea about why Alejandro Garnacho hasn’t had much playing time at Aston Villa. Since joining Villa on loan from Chelsea this summer, Garnacho has mostly been on the sidelines, playing only three Premier League games and totaling just 31 minutes on the pitch.
But after a strong performance in Villa’s 3-1 Champions League win over Viking, one fan thinks Garnacho is actually benefiting from Unai Emery’s strict coaching style. Emery seems to be pushing Garnacho hard to help him improve.
After the Viking game, Emery said he felt positive about Garnacho, calling it the player’s “best minutes” for Villa so far. Responding to these comments, a user named ‘fruggy888’ shared their theory: “I think Emery is breaking Garnacho down to get rid of bad habits and then build him up based on his natural talent. It’s not like the Harvey Elliott situation. Emery is saying, ‘Listen to me, work hard, and I’ll make you great.’”
This fits with how Emery has treated some other new players. For example, Youri Tielemans didn’t start in the Premier League until November 2023 even though he joined in the summer, but he eventually became a key player for Villa. Of the ten players Villa signed last summer, only Joao Gomes started their first Premier League game, while Zion Suzuki and Nicolas Jackson were the only others to start a second game early on.
Garnacho first made a name for himself as a teenager at Manchester United and even made Argentina’s Copa America-winning team in 2024. He also won the Premier League Goal of the Season for an amazing overhead kick against Everton. But things didn’t go smoothly at United, and after moving to Chelsea for £40 million last summer, he scored 1 goal and made 4 assists in 24 Premier League matches.
Because Garnacho has struggled at Villa, people have compared his situation to Harvey Elliott’s tough loan spell last season. Elliott could have secured a £35 million transfer if he played 10 Premier League games but only appeared four times. It seemed Emery made up his mind about the 23-year-old quite quickly.
Garnacho hopes to follow the path of other wingers like Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford, who found success under Emery in January 2025. Emery himself has asked for “patience” with the 22-year-old, praising his positive attitude and commitment.
“His attitude is very important,” Emery said in September. “He’s working hard every day, and you can see progress. He needs time, but I believe he will reach his best level with consistent effort and hard work.”
So, while Garnacho’s start at Villa hasn’t been easy, fans and the coach are hopeful big things are still to come.