For all the promise Unai Emery once held as Arsenal manager, there could be few complaints with his axing in November 2019.
Wednesday marked four years to the day since Emery's exit from the Emirates Stadium, a date he didn't see coming despite a downward spiral in form. The former Paris Saint-Germain boss led the Gunners to a Europa League runner-up spot in his only full season at the club, while their fifth-place Premier League finish in 2018/19 was one higher than the previous campaign.
And on the anniversary of his departure from north London, there's no better time to examine the ins and outs of what led to the parting of ways. Not to mention the shift in Emery's acceptance now he's had time to look back.
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The Athletic reported Emery was 'hurt deeply' by Arsenal's decision to sack him and did not see the split coming ahead of time. Despite being in the midst of a seven-game winless run at the time of his dismissal, it was the Spaniard's genuine belief that he'd demonstrated enough promise to earn a little more patience at the Emirates.
"Such was his insular, all-consuming manner, he felt blindsided and unaware of the growing scepticism in his project," read an excerpt from the article. "He believed there remained total belief in him having integrated young players, such as Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah into the first team, which, in his mind, displayed the early buds of a new, youthful Arsenal."
Would Unai Emery have won a Premier League title by now if they hadn't sacked Emery? Let us know in the comments section below.
However, the 52-year-old has since come to concede he was too singular in his focus on 'just the football' at Arsenal. The four-time Europa League-winner perhaps overlooked the importance of political matters and other relations off the field, which perhaps aren't as sensitive in his current post.
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Emery has been a whirlwind success at Aston Villa since the Birmingham club paid Villarreal to take his services in October 2022. And he has two considerable tools working in his favour at Villa Park, with president of football operations Monchi and director (as well as close friend and former assistant) Damian Vidagany running much of the off-field day-to-day.
That triumvirate has worked to major success so far as Emery guided Villa back into Europe for the first time in more than a decade, with the club currently fourth in the Premier League. Although his first stint in England's top flight didn't go to plan, Emery has learnt from his mistakes to launch an unexpected path to success at the second attempt.
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