29th November 2019 – Unai Emery is sacked by Arsenal.
The night before, the Spaniard’s team had been beaten by Eintracht Frankfurt in a near-empty Emirates Stadium. A sight that summed up the club’s condition at the time. A husk of what had been, and a squad full of players who either couldn’t or didn’t care enough to attempt to inspire their fans once again.
Emery stood on the touchline – devoid of all the emotion that Arsenal fans had enjoyed in his first season. The Spaniard who once had stood in the same position, arms aloft, as his team smashed in a fourth goal to beat bitter rivals Tottenham 4-2, now stood with a blank, shell-shocked expression as he saw the end of his time at Arsenal. When Daichi Kamada’s second goal hit the net, Emery could only muster an accepting nod.
Almost five years later, Emery returns to the Emirates Stadium for the first time with fans in attendance but will stand in the opposition dugout. In the home dugout, will be the man who replaced him.
Mikel Arteta was announced as the new Arsenal manager on 20th December 2019. From his very first interview, the Spaniard was clear on his fundamental standards. As he called them, his ‘non-negotiables’.
He spoke of changing the culture and demanding respect, commitment, and passion. In the years since that first press conference, Arteta, still in his first job in management, has not strayed from those standards.
Under Emery, player power had become king at Arsenal. Players with sub-par work rates and inflated wages filled the squads and the manager had struggled to cope with it. Work began quickly under Arteta to move such mentalities out of the squad and of the players who had started Emery’s final game, five had left by the start of Arteta’s second season.
Today, just two remain.
In fairness to Emery, he had not benefitted from the same backing Arteta has received. Arsenal, largely ran by Raul Sanllehi during Emery’s reign, made signings the Spaniard reportedly didn’t suggest.
Following on from legendary Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger, the Gunners’ decision makers looked keen to step away from a model in which the manager would hold total power over club decisions, and made this clear by appointing Emery as a head coach. In turn, Emery would not have the final say over signings and looked to struggle with some of the players he was given.
Perhaps none more than Nicolas Pepe, who was, at the time, the club’s record signing and came with huge promise after dominating in France.
The winger could not cope with the demands of the Premier League and rarely hit any form during his four-year stay at the club, under Emery and then Arteta. The signing was a disaster, and Emery felt a lot of the brunt. The club’s blushes were somewhat saved by the emergence of Bukayo Saka from the academy, who showed from day one the ability of a club record signing, despite being just 18-years-old.
Since leaving Arsenal, Emery has spent time at Villareal and now back in England with Aston Villa. The Villans sit in fourth currently in the Premier League and await a second leg against French side Lille in the Europa Conference League.
Emery has performed a superb job at Villa Park and has a chance to lead Aston Villa back into the Champions League for the first time since 1983.
In similar fashion to the form Emery got out of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette in the 18/19 season, Ollie Watkins has become one of the Premier League’s leading strikers under the Spaniard and Villa have played sensational football at times.
Big wins in big games have also highlighted the West Midlands club's season, particularly in back-to-back games at Villa Park against Manchester City and indeed, Arsenal.
For Arteta, his team have become a powerhouse well in the running for the league title. Arsenal are currently on an 11 game unbeaten streak in the league, having won 10 of those matches. The Spaniard’s side have scored at will recently, and give away far and away the fewest chances in the league.
Sunday will see a clash of two very different periods of Arsenal. Some have suggested Emery should love to ‘get one over’ on his old club and play a part in ruining the Gunners’ title challenge, but it is unclear how the Aston Villa manager feels about Arsenal. While Emery was ousted quickly and effectively when things had clearly come to an end at the Emirates Stadium, the Spaniard was gracious and thankful to the fans.
However, one thing is clear between both managers. Both have very clear goals for their teams this season and their focus will certainly be on a crucial three points to aid either a well-overdue Premier League title, or a return to the Champions League for a club steeped in European history.
