Thierry Henry insists Unai Emery would have been a success if he was given more time at Arsenal as he hails Aston Villa boss as ‘a tactical genius’
- Thierry Henry believes that Unai Emery could have been a success at Arsenal
- Emery, who was sacked by Arsenal in 2019, is now in charge of Aston Villa
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Thierry Henry has claimed that Unai Emery would have been a success at Arsenal if he was given more time at the club.
Emery had 78 games in charge of Arsenal before being sacked in November 2019 and is now in charge of Aston Villa.
Arsenal have enjoyed an upward trajectory under Mikel Arteta, but Gunners legend Henry believes that Emery could also have made a major impact.
Emery’s Villa beat Bayern Munich 1-0 at home in the Champions League on Wednesday night, with Jhon Duran scoring in the 79th minute.
Speaking on CBS Sports, Henry said of Emery: ‘He’s a tactical genius. He always goes out there and makes sure that his team has an advantage tactically because that’s how he operates.
Thierry Henry claimed Unai Emery would have been a success at Arsenal if given more time
Henry hailed Emery as a ‘tactical genius’ and feels he could have thrived at Arsenal
‘We all know what he did in Spain [winning the Europa League four times with Sevilla and Villarreal]. It’s no disrespect to what Mikel Arteta is doing and he’s doing extremely well for Arsenal, but I just thought that if we kept him a bit longer he would have been a success at Arsenal.
‘He did show it straight after when he left the club. I have massive respect for him.’
Emery didn’t win a trophy at Arsenal, with his side being beaten by Chelsea in the 2019 Europa League final.
Arsenal have enjoyed an upward trajectory in recent years under Mikel Arteta
Although there were some positive moments, Arsenal ended up finishing in fifth place in the Premier League in Emery’s only full season at the club.
After leaving Arsenal, Emery won the Europa League with Villarreal in the 2020-21 campaign, having previously won the competition three times with Sevilla.
Emery’s Villa side are currently in fifth place in the Premier League, one point behind Arsenal.
Arsenal, meanwhile, have finished second in two consecutive seasons under Arteta and are hoping that this can be the season in which
