Jamie Carragher snubs Arteta, Ten Hag and Pochettino as he names third-best manager in the Premier League

Former Liverpool defender and current pundit Jamie Carragher has snubbed Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag among others as he named a surprise candidate as 'third-best' manager in the Premier League.

Carragher waxed lyrical about Aston Villa manager Unai Emery during Sky Sports' Premier League coverage (via Football365) on Sunday.

He went as far as claiming that only Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are better than Emery in the PL.

"You can make an argument that Unai Emery is the third-best manager in this Premier League. You've probably got Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola (ahead of him), they are Champions League winners."

Carragher then referred to Emery's multiple triumphs in the Europa League, mentioning his ability to win silverware as a separator between him and his rivals Arteta and Pochettino.

"When you look at the body of work of Unai Emery, not just at Aston Villa, he's continually winning Europa Leagues. (Arsenal's) Mikel Arteta and even (Chelsea's) Mauricio Pochettino haven't got that CV in terms of winning trophies."

The former Liverpool man then compared Unai Emery with Erik ten Hag, saying there is no doubt the Villans are better-coached than Manchester United.

"If you back over the last 12 months since Unai Emery came in, if you are talking about Manchester United, Aston Villa are a better-coached team than United. There is absolutely no doubt about that."

Jamie Carragher also mentioned that Aston Villa are likely to go far in European competitions this season given their squad and Unai Emery's caliber in such competitions.

Villa are currently fifth in the Premier League with 25 points from 12 games after they beat Fulham 3-1 on the weekend.

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Erik ten Hag makes better start to life in England than Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp

Since joining Manchester United, Erik ten Hag has often come under scrutiny for his team selections, tactics and sometimes a poor result. However, the media often creates biases and it is easy to get caught up in them.

The reality is that the Dutchman has made a better start to life with Manchester United than his counterparts Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp did with Arsenal and Liverpool respectively.

In his first 50 Premier League games as manager, ten Hag has picked up 96 points compared to Klopp's 92. Arteta is well behind the United boss with just 75 points from his first 50 PL games as Arsenal boss.

This serves as a reminder of ten Hag's quality as a manager and the reason why Manchester United's hierarchy have stuck with him.