Unai Emery has previously made his feelings clear on Crystal Palace forward Wilfried Zaha as shock links to Aston Villa emerge. Emery, who was in charge at the Emirates Stadium from 2018 to 2019, attempted to bring Zaha to North London, however the club opted to sign Ivorian Nicolas Pepe from Lille instead. Speaking to Football.London at the time, Emery commented on the possibility of signing Zaha for the Gunners, where he revealed his admiration for the Palace star.
Unai Emery said: “I usually want to sign first the players I know there. When we played against Crystal Palace, Zaha showed he was a very good player. I also think Nicolas Pepe is a very good player. When you make the decision you have to decide how easy the adaptation will be of some players. I was thinking the adaptation was easier for Zaha because he was playing in the Premier League and you didn’t know exactly how fast Nicolas Pepe can adapt to the Premier League. I was thinking at this time that the adaptation of Zaha was probably easier and faster than Pepe.”
