Aston Villa star Lucas Digne has revealed that he has taken a significant tactical journey since Unai Emery arrived at Villa Park.

SO Foot have an interview with the 32-year-old today. He discusses various topics, including commuting from London for the sake of his children.

The Frenchman has been at Aston Villa since 2022, joining in a £25m deal from Everton in the January transfer window. He was the second major arrival that month under Steven Gerrard, following Philippe Coutinho.

Aston Villa key player

He’s been a key player since, establishing himself as first choice under Gerrard and his replacement Emery.

The Spanish boss arrived at Villa Park in November 2022, with Digne scoring a superb free kick on his debut in a 3-1 win over Manchester United.

Digne has been a stalwart of the side since, recently signing a contract extension through to June 2028.

That means he’s been a significant part of the transformation at Villa Park under Emery’s guidance so far. The progress has seen Aston Villa qualifying for Europe and at times challenging for the title this season.

Unai Emery teachings

Unai Emery

It seems, though, the pair had to get a proper understanding of each other first. That saw Digne treated to Emery’s well-established video analysis.

“When Unai Emery arrived at Aston Villa, he asked me to make more passes inside, to look for a player rather than a specific area,” he said.

“He didn’t forbid me from crossing, but you could tell it wasn’t his plan. Over time, he understood what my crossing ability could bring, so he told me to keep doing it.

“Now, I just know I should only cross when necessary. It’s taught me to choose the right moments to do it, without compromising my style. Unai is one of the coaches who has guided me the most in my career.”

Passionate and meticulous

“He’s truly passionate. He’s meticulous; we do four hours of video analysis a week. Everything is examined. I was 28 when we met, and I improved enormously thanks to him, at an age when I didn’t think I could take that next step. Both offensively and defensively.

“For example, he wants his two full-backs to look at each other, to be positioned so they can see the defensive line. In French football training, I was always told to watch the opposing player.

“This meant I had to completely change my approach and learn a new way of defending. It’s not easy to change your habits after so long, but in the end, it’s beneficial.”

Analysis: Player who appears settled with manager

Lucas Digne has at times in his career carried frustration over people not rating him highly enough. Whilst that’s partly been related to the France national team, it’s also been an issue at clubs before Aston Villa.

The defender has had to fight to convince, with Didier Deschamps an example of that. Now he’s expected to go to the World Cup with France and sounds settled at club level too.

Digne isn’t in his best run of form for Aston Villa, yet there’s no signs of complaint in what was a lengthy chat about his career. He’s found a space where he’s comfortable on and off the pitch, and Unai Emery has played a big part in that.

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