Emery eyes new chapter as he aims for Europa League final

Unai Emery is close to taking Aston Villa back to the Champions League [Getty Images]

Boss Unai Emery said Aston Villa want to create some history as they chase a place in next month's Europa League final.

Villa go to Nottingham Forest in their semi-final first leg on Thursday looking to end their 30-year trophy drought.

The winners will face either Freiburg or Braga in the final in Istanbul on 20 May.

It is Emery's seventh Europa League semi-final, the former Arsenal boss having won the competition three times with Sevilla and once with Villarreal. He lost with the Gunners to Chelsea in the 2019 final.

He said: "I have my own experiences before in this competition and different momentum as well.

"But it is completely different. In football, everything you have done before, though it may be fantastic, it's done.

"Now it is a new chapter and I want to write a new chapter here. The most important experiences are the ones we have here together.

"Our experiences are a semi-final in the Conference League, quarter-final in the Champions League.

"We must try to learn with our experiences, to respond better than we did."

Villa beat Forest 3-1 at Villa Park in January before a 1-1 draw at the City Ground earlier this month in the Premier League.

Forest are 16th, five points above the relegation zone, compared to Champions League-chasing Villa who are fifth.

"How we are arriving in the key moment in this competition, it has been fantastic but now the semi final is 50-50 for both teams," added Emery.