Unai Emery has been named the Barclays Manager of the Month for December, winning the award for the third time.
He steered Aston Villa to an impressive five wins from six games to close out 2025, with that form propelling the Villans firmly into Premier League title contention.
Watch: Emery's brilliant December
Villa's impressive month
Villa began the month by edging past Brighton & Hove Albion in a seven-goal thriller on the south coast, with Ollie Watkins scoring twice in a 4-3 win.
They followed that up with an impressive 2-1 victory over Arsenal, with Emiliano Buendia's winner in the fifth minute of added time sparking jubilant scenes at Villa Park.
Villa continued their habit of winning by a single goal in their next three matches, beating West Ham United 3-2, before edging out Manchester United and Chelsea with consecutive 2-1 scorelines.
A 4-1 defeat to Arsenal at Emirates Stadium on 30 December brought an abrupt end to Villa's eight-game winning sequence in the Premier League, but they have recovered well from that setback by taking four points from a possible six since the New Year to consolidate third place.
This is Emery's first Manager of the Month award since 2023 when he won it twice: in April and December.
He is one of five Villa managers or head coaches to be named Barclays Manager of the Month, while only Martin O'Neill (with four) has won it more times for the club than Emery's total of three.
Every Aston Villa Barclays Manager of the Month winner
| Manager | Total |
|---|---|
| Martin O'Neill | 4 |
| Unai Emery | 3 |
| John Gregory | 2 |
| Brian Little, Dean Smith | 1 |
Emery topped a four-man shortlist also featuring Mikel Arteta (Arsenal), Pep Guardiola (Manchester City) and Daniel Farke (Leeds United) after votes from fans were combined with those of a panel of experts.
2025/26 Barclays Manager of the Month winners
August: Arne Slot (Liverpool)
September: Oliver Glasner (Crystal Palace)
October: Ruben Amorim (Man Utd)
November: Enzo Maresca (Chelsea)
December: Unai Emery (Aston Villa)