Billionaires assure Smith relegation won’t destroy Villa
DEAN SMITH says whatever the next week holds, relegation-threatened Aston Villa are 100 per cent safe.
They are favourites to plunge out of the Premier League and Smith’s future is in the balance, but the Villa manager knows financial oblivion is off the menu.
On the second anniversary of the club’s takeover by billionaires Nassef Sawiris and Wes Edens, Villa go into the penultimate match of their season tonight three points from safety.
Defeat by Arsenal would be a big blow ahead of their trip to West Ham on Sunday, but Smith insists they would not suffer the meltdown some clubs do when relegated.
Forbes list Egyptian businessman Sawiris with a £5billion fortune while American equity investor Edens has £1bn.
Both have been on enforced absence because of travel restrictions but Smith revealed they have been there in spirit.
He said: “They have sent me messages to pass on to the players in terms of keep up the good work, keep working hard and that there is hope.
“Without hope, what is there? We are passing those on. They are fully behind the players and myself to maintain our Premier League status.We want to do it for them as much as anyone.
“We know what we’ve got to achieve. If we win both of them, we have a chance of catching West Ham.
“If we win one we’ve got a chance of catching Watford but we’re dependent on other results as well.
“The short-term future of the club is not in jeopardy at all. We are thankful we have two billionaire owners who have ambitions of improving this club. They have been fantastic.
“We don’t want to be in this position and we don’t want to be
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MIKEL ARTETA wants to nail down European qualification as soon as possible so he can get Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang tied up on a new deal.
The forward will be entering his final two seasons once the campaign is over, but the Arsenal board are in a difficult position to move before they know whether they can count on the revenue from Europa League football next season. relegated but if we did we would have to deal with it.
“This time next week, I will be sat here knowing exactly where we are at.” When Villa
Matthew Dunn
IN THE LOOP: Smith has passed on messages from Edens and Sawiris, right
Arsenal play Chelsea in the FA Cup final on August 1 but wins against Aston Villa tonight andWatford on Sunday could book a place a week earlier.
“There are a number of uncertain things that we have on the table, obviously he’s one of them,” Arteta said of Gabon striker Aubameyang, step out tonight, they will know if Watford got anything against Manchester City in the 6pm kick-off at Vicarage Road.
Smith added: “We will probably have the game on in the background while we are planning and when the team below. “There is another one of where we are going to finish and whether we’re going to be playing in Europe or not, which is going to have an impact.
“With Auba, I have been very clear with what I want.The quicker we do it, the better because the player will be more focused, more determined and more calm.” news comes through. It is part of where we are at the moment.
“We need to know what the result is, but it doesn’t change the way we will approach the game. We go out to win it. We have to do that to even try to catch Watford.”
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