Unai Emery floundered as Arsenal boss but transformed Aston Villa – the Spaniard will aim to haunt the Gunners again after crushing their title dream
It didn’t take long for Aston Villa fans to work out just how good a coach they had on their hands when Unai Emery first walked through the doors at Villa Park.
In the wake of a less-than impressive stint from Steven Gerrard, the former Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Villarreal boss was took charge in October 2022.
He inherited a team that had no real clear identity, was struggling down the wrong end of the table, and seemed bereft of confidence.
But by the end of his first match, Emery had shown what his side of players were capable of, blowing Man United away 3-1 with only three changes from the XI that started the 3-0 defeat by Fulham that saw Gerrard out the door – and the three that missed out all came off the bench.
It was a performance that hinted at what was to come; renewed vigour, intensity that sets your enemies quaking, and a cutting edge deserving of a top four place.
Unai Emery has revolutionised Aston Villa and has a chance to haunt Arsenal this weekend
Villa have become one of the biggest challengers to the established order in the top-flight
Under Emery the Villans reached the Champions League for the first time in the Premier League era
While it began a chain of events that saw Villa blossom as the season went on and ultimately bore fruit in the shape of a Champions League spot for 2024-25, it did also throw up another intriguing question – why didn’t it work out at Arsenal?
This is a manager who won a French domestic treble the season before arriving at Arsenal with PSG, and picked up the Europa League trophy – his fourth – in the season after he left. There is nothing wrong with Emery’s credentials as a coach.
In north London the Emery era was characterised by fits and bursts, false dawns and ultimately flawed structures -the reality is that Arsenal were not the same club they are now, and were not ready for Emery.
Emery was inheriting the throne of Wenger, the greatest to ever manage the club, and one of English football’s all-time best.
But it wasn’t just filling shoes that were always going to be too big that hampered Emery’s progress. He was entering into a club that had relied for so long on one figure that there was now a rush to completely revamp the Gunners’ operations, but one that ultimately failed.
Instability reigned at the club, with football operations staff tripling before Ivan Gazidis – then chief executive in north London – departed for AC Milan a month into the Emery era.
He faced a stern test at Arsenal in following in the footsteps from Gunners legend Arsene Wenger
Emery’s time at Arsenal was characterised by fits and starts and he lasted less than two seasons
The famed triumvirate of Gazidis, Sven Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi was established to restore order and create structure, with each department (chief executive, recruitment and football relations) dealing with one aspect of the club around a head coach.
As a result, Emery had to fight for transfers he wanted that would suit his style – a failed push for Wilfried Zaha over Nicolas Pepe emblematic of this – and ultimately tensions began to build.
The squad he’d inherited was a far cry from what it is now. The team that we saw in Dubai last winter smiling and having fun as one cohesive unit in the desert has come on leaps and bounds from the cliques of just a few years ago.
Emery famously explained that one of his biggest tasks was to ‘break down’ the walls at Arsenal in order to re-build, but there were cliques within the squad already formed under Wenger, and a number of the players according to reports were already questioning Emery’s judgement and even mocking his accent.
Therein lies another hurdle – the manager’s poor English. While his initial interview impressed the Gunners with his surprisingly in-depth knowledge of the academy set up, his English skills were found to be lacking. He also reportedly got one of his colleagues’ names wrong after a meeting.
Xhaka being booed off by Arsenal fans highlighted the disconnect at the club at the time
Emery’s Villarreal side knocked out Arsenal on route to winning the 2021 Europa League
His press conferences were attended by translators, and long, drawn out data-led analysis sessions proved unpopular among the squad. Bukayo Saka even admitted he would have instructions re-iterated by Freddie Ljungberg.
By the time Emery was put out of his misery, the damage had already been done. There was still some good after going an impressive 22 games unbeaten, but Granit Xhaka being booed off the field was symptomatic of just how out of love with the club the fans had fallen.
But Emery did not allow his name to be added to a long list of those who had impressed in Europe but couldn’t cut it in the Premier League.
He went away, won another Europa League, and honed his skills further to become one of the most sought-after minds in the game. A freshly taken over Newcastle were keen for him to take the reins before snapping up Eddie Howe.
His stock was renewed and back he came as an improved version of the previous Emery, having worked on his English skills as well, and turned Aston Villa from a side drifting aimlessly towards a scrap for survival come the end of the season to a brutal force to be reckoned with in 18 short months.
Emery has transformed Ollie Watkins into a world class striker and has improved the members of his squad
Emery did the double over his former side last season and has a chance to land an early title blow
And it wasn’t Man City that stopped Arsenal finally getting their hands on another Premier League trophy last season. The Gunners took four points off Pep Guardiola’s side last term, but remember who the only team to do the double over Arsenal was?
The mark of the great managers is how they can get the best out of what they already have at their disposal. Emery has turned Ollie Watkins into a world class striker. Douglas Luiz went from a mid-table holding midfielder, to a disruptor in the middle of the park that was snapped up by Italian giants Juventus over the summer.
Lucas Digne’s time at the club seemed all but over, but he’s now forced Alex Merino out on loan, while Ezri Konsa emerged as England’s rescuer at the Euros to fill in sublimely for Marc Guehi.
Villa have become a thorn in the side of the established order, and it’s largely down to the work of one man. And that man has a chance this weekend to just remind his former employers of what they missed out on, and land an early title blow on the Gunners if they’ve not learned their lessons from last time out.
