Raul Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham reportedly recommended that the club sack Unai Emery after the draw against Southampton last weekend.
It did seem a little cruel to allow Unai Emery to take charge of the game against Frankfurt on Thursday night knowing that is time was up and the ground would be half-empty. And they didn’t have to if the Telegraph’s report on Saturday is correct.
They write, “The decision to fire Emery was taken earlier this week, with Sanllehi and Vinai Venkatesham, the managing director, recommending his dismissal to the club’s owners following last weekend’s draw with Southampton.
“When Sanllehi and Venkatesham had decided to call time on Emery’s reign, they flew to the United States on a pre-arranged trip and made the recommendation to the Kroenke family. Emery was not aware of that until yesterday [Friday].
Emery turned up on Friday morning expecting to take training for the game against Norwich, they add, only to be told by Sanllehi, Venkatesham, and Edu that he was out of a job despite apparent reluctance to get rid of him from some behind the scenes.
The players then arrived at Colney and were spoken to by the above trio and Freddie Ljungberg with the Spaniard then offered time to say some personal farewells.
The players are said to be delighted with Ljungberg’s impact since his promotion to assistant head coach of the first team at the start of the season with many believing he simply understands the club in ways Unai Emery could never quite manage.
The Telegraph list a number of managers being considered for the job with Mauricio Pochettino, who reportedly has no agent, said to head the list.
Others candidates named include (Nationality/Club/Agent):
- Nuno Espirito Santo (Portuguese/Wolves/Jorge Mendes)
- Masimiliano Allegri (Italian/without a club/agent unknown)
- Carlo Ancelotti (Italian/Napoli/Base Soccer Agency)
- Freddie Ljungberg (Swedish/Arsenal/Base Soccer Agency)
- Mikel Arteta (Spanish/Manchester City/Inaki Ibanez)
- Vitor Pereira (Portuguese/Shanghai SIPG/SBSFoot)