**Unai Emery** expressed his thoughts on the final fixture of the season for **Aston Villa**.
Fresh from a mature display in the **Europa League** final that resulted in a 3-0 victory against **Freiburg** for the _Villans_, they now travel to the **Etihad Stadium** to face **Manchester City**.
‘It’s my pleasure to play against Guardiola’
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Emery’s men have lost 3-0, 4-1 and 2-1 in the three visits to the ground under his stewardship, so it is not a fixture that has traditionally brought joy to the team. But the pressure is off in terms of the fight for **Champions League** football, and the news of the exit of **Pep Guardiola** has stolen the limelight.
The relationship between the pair goes back to their days in Spain, and Emery again could not resist the temptation to talk in glowing terms about the character of a relentless winner at the elite level.
_“It’s a fantastic match for us to play, being fourth in the league, maybe we can finish fifth – it depends as well, our match and Liverpool’s match, but it’s in our hands, and something fantastic._
_“It’s the best season we did since I am here, with the position in the table and with the Europa League._
_“And on Sunday,_ **_Manchester City_**_, they lost the league, but congratulations for_ **_Arsenal_**_. Of course, a fantastic season Guardiola did, achieving the_ **_FA Cup_**_, and not in_ **_Champions League_** _and not in the league, but of course, the league is very difficult._
_“It’s very, very difficult to beat or to win this title in_ **_Premier League_** _and to beat the opponent, they are as well, contenders and favourites, and_ **_Arsenal_** _and_ **_Manchester City_**_, they are, both teams, amazing seasons they are doing in the league, and of course,_ **_Arsenal_**_, they are playing the (_**_Champions League_**_) final._
_“For us on Sunday, it’s my pleasure to play against Guardiola. It’s my pleasure, it’s my honour to face him. I started facing him in 2008/09, he started training in_ **_Barcelona_** _and I was starting in_ **_Valencia_**_._
_“And four years in a row, we were competing,_ **_Barcelona_**_,_ **_Valencia_**_, (it) was his best moment in_ **_Barcelona_**_. Amazing how they were playing, his impact was crazy good, and we were always finishing third. And I didn’t beat him. Valencia didn’t beat Barcelona,_ **_Unai Emery_** _didn’t beat Guardiola, and they were asking me in the press conference, ‘you can’t beat Guardiola’._
_“And I was answering, ‘if I am keeping for a long time, my position here, to face him is really being fantastic’. And now, on Sunday, I’m going to play against him._
_“It’s my honour, my pleasure, because he’s the best coach in the world. Clearly, he’s a huge inspiration for other coaches. The only genius is him, and as a competitive, he’s always, every day, because I can identify and I can understand more, watching how he’s managing his team through the chapters in different medias on Amazon or YouTube or everything._
_“I watched in those chapters how he’s coaching and managing the team and how he’s showing his personality, because I’ve never watched him training immediately._
_“I never knew how he was developing as a coach, only competing against him, but through the chapters, I can understand better, his way in football, and he’s the best._
_“And of course, for me, it’s a huge pleasure to play on Sunday, to compete against him. I beat him here after a long time, I beat him here with_ **_Aston Villa_**_,_ **_Manchester City_**_, and always how he showed me massive respect is something I appreciate a lot._
_“For me, he’s the best coach, but as well as a person, he’s fantastic. I respect him because I think he’s humble. He’s always so respectful with me, and I can watch as well with other coaches._
_“In football, and even in the life, I really appreciate him a lot, but how he’s representing as well, himself, not only as a coach, as a manager, as well as a person. And for me, it’s a huge respect, a huge pleasure, always when I am facing him, and I can take a small conversation._
_“The best conversation I had here with him, always was the last matches we played together, here with_ **_Aston Villa_** _and_ **_Manchester City_**_, and it was a very interesting conversation about how we were both understanding football and understanding the competitive way we are, and the respect as well._
_“I started competing with him and having some conversations 20 years ago, and now getting mature, getting more experiences, I like to speak with him five minutes and speak about everything.”_