Unai Emery admits he was really frustrated at the end of his Arsenal tenure, but he understands the decision to let him go.
Unai Emery took over from Arsène Wenger at Arsenal, managing the Gunners for a season and a half before a run of poor results saw him sacked and eventually replaced by Mikel Arteta – following an interim period with Freddie Ljungberg in charge.
Emery is currently on a good run with Aston Villa, but he’s been speaking about his time with Arsenal this week.
“It was a very good challenge but when I finished after one year and six months, in November [2019] I was really frustrated,” Emery said.
“The first year was good, the second year started a bit so-so and then it was over.
“Arsenal was difficult to arrive at after Wenger. What was needed was a process. The supporters respected me a lot and I was frustrated because I was thinking, ‘I can do it, but I need time’.
“But I understand always football. I understand always my position as a coach. You have to win. You convince by winning.
“The work Arteta is doing there now is brilliant and he’s doing more or less everything I was thinking needed to be done there. And now history is different. I am here (at Aston Villa).”
Aston Villa are fifth in the Premier League table, and at the time of writing they’re just two points off the top of the league.
A Tottenham Hotspur win on Monday evening could increase that gap to four points, but it’s still an excellent position for the team to be in, especially considering all four of the teams in front of them are big-six clubs.
Villa have invested heavily in their team, and that’s undoubtedly a factor in their revival. They’ve also refused to sell their best players on a couple of occasions, like when Arsenal tried to sign Douglas Luiz.
But Emery deserves his share of the credit as well, as we’ve seen plenty of teams throw money at the market and come back with bottom-half finishes.
In the end, as frustrating as it might have been, Emery and Arsenal parting ways appears to have worked out for the best for all parties.
The Gunners have won an FA Cup and returned to fighting for the Premier League title, and Emery won the Europa League with Villarreal and has Villa on the up.