Aston Villa coach told to carry on celebrating after Gary Neville blast

The latter was referenced by Jamie Carragher after his fellow TV pundit Gary Neville launched a furious rant this week about Arsenal dead ball guru Nicolas Jover, calling him the “most annoying man in football” because of his touchline antics.

MacPhee is also prominent in the technical area whenever Villa have a set-piece but Emery has no problem with him taking the credit when his hard work pays off.

Asked if he minded MacPhee celebrating a goal, Emery replied: “No, of course not. I’m celebrating it as well!

“We have very good assistant coaches at the same level as Austin. We are a team. We are always trying to share our emotions together. 

“When we change a player he has to remember their tasks. The responsibility is mine. I’m supporting the coaches and one of them is Austin.

“If he is respectful, helping the team, helping the players, supporting me, then there is no problem.”

Villa head to Arsenal on Saturday in a battle between two of the Premier League’s best set-piece exponents. Emery’s men have the third highest goal tally in the top flight from dead ball situations, while their hosts are top of the standings thanks to the work of Jover.

But the latter’s antics have irritated former Manchester United defender turned prominent pundit Neville.

Speaking on an episode of the Stick to Football podcast this week, Neville said: "I called him (Jover) the most annoying man in football and I'm cementing my position.

"I'm doubling down. It's offending me every week.

"I'm going to say this really calmly, I think he's overreaching his importance.

"If a goalkeeper makes a save, I don't see the goalkeeping coach on the edge of the touchline.”

Co-host Carragher added: "I think Neville’s made a great point, to be honest. I can't disagree with it, I thought it was a bit harsh. The Aston Villa one does the same."

Their view is of little concern to Emery, who has been impressed by MacPhee’s work since taking charge of Villa in 2022. The Scot was the only member of Villa’s existing backroom team kept on board by the Spaniard, who had previously done all set piece coaching himself.

Emery said:  I know one of the reasons I was successful in the past was down to set-pieces.

"In a lot of matches the difference between winning and losing can be down to set-pieces.

"Arsenal are fantastic at them - they are doing a fantastic job.

"When I arrived here it was the first time I'd ever worked with one (a set-piece coach).

"I shared my experience with him and we held lots of meetings about how we should prepare the set-pieces for the players.

"We work on the training pitch for a minimum of one day, sometimes two days, before a match on offensive and defensive set pieces.

"Before each match one meeting is set aside solely for set-pieces. I think it is very, very important.”