Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has now reflected candidly upon his stint in charge of the North London club.
Unai Emery was at the helm for Arsenal between May 2018 and November 2019.
The Spanish coach took over from the long-serving Arsene Wenger, during a period of real turmoil for the club.
Replacing a legacy manager is never easy, and the relationship between the club and the fans was somewhat toxic at that time.
Things started well enough for Emery at the Emirates Stadium. Although the Gunners narrowly missed out on Champions League qualification at the end of his first season, and were thrashed by Chelsea in the Europa League final, there were periods of good form and some promising performances.
However, his second season began poorly and got worse. Emery was removed from his post, and by mid-December, Mikel Arteta had been handed the reins.
In total, Emery took charge of 78 Arsenal games, winning 43 of them.
Emery has since returned to Arsenal as Aston Villa manager, and has enjoyed considerable success with the Midlands outfit.
Unai Emery lifts lid on Arsenal experience
The 52-year-old has now offered his insight into how his time in charge of Arsenal went.
Speaking to El Diario Vasco, he said: “They are two different stages. I arrived at Arsenal at a difficult time with the departure of Wenger. They were also in the process of building a new stadium and had been out of the Champions League.
“I needed time to restructure it and once again relocate it to the potential level that Arsenal was, which is one of the three strongest teams in the Premier along with Liverpool and Manchester City. There is also Manchester United.
“I arrived looking again for the place that belonged to it and it is true that that process that I did for a year and a half went well. Arteta is doing very well now.”
In hindsight, Emery’s tenure allowed the club some much-needed breathing space between Wenger’s reign and the prospect of a new era. It is likely that Arteta would not have been able to do the job he has done at the club had he come into the dugout directly after the iconic Frenchman.
Emery provided an experience hand to guide the club through those choppy waters, albeit his stint in charge was brief and ultimately ended in disappointment.
Emery makes Emirates Stadium claim that doesn’t add up
Whilst allowing for the fact that some intended meaning may have been misrepresented here due to the existing language barrier, Emery’s comments about the club being “in the process of building a new stadium” as part of his own defence is simply bizarre.
The Gunners moved from Highbury into the Emirates Stadium in 2006, more than a decade before Emery took charge of the club.
Whilst that move undeniably impacted the club’s finances, and ability to compete at the top of the game, for a long time, there is no argument that it hampered Emery in his time in charge.