Unai Emery shares his honest verdict on his time as Arsenal manager eight years on

Unai Emery has given his assessment on his time as Arsenal manager.

The Aston Villa manager was named successor to Arsene Wenger in May 2018, over eight years ago now.

After a promising start in the Emirates dugout, including embarking on a 22-match unbeaten run, something they haven’t matched since, Emery was dismissed 18 months in.

Speaking ahead of Aston Villa’s UEFA Super Cup meeting with PSG, who beat Arsenal in the Champions League final, Emery was asked about the experiences that shaped his managerial career.

Naturally, the conversation turned to Arsenal. “Arsenal was another experience. I was not feeling completely successful,” Emery said, via HaytersTV. “But the year we spend there working, I think we did a good year, a good season.”

To be fair to Emery, he had huge shoes to fill replacing Wenger, and the hierarchy wasn’t structured as clearly as it is today.

His first season saw Arsenal finish fifth, a point behind Tottenham, but they reached the Europa League final in Baku — their first European final since the 2006 Champions League.

The Gunners overcame first-leg deficits against BATE Borisov and Rennes before dismantling one of his former clubs Valencia 7-3 on aggregate to reach the final.

The night in Baku itself ended in a dismal and humiliating 4-1 defeat to Chelsea.

His second season unravelled pretty quickly and by November 2019, halfway through his three-year contract, Arsenal parted ways with him and replaced him with Mikel Arteta.

The Emery-Arteta debate is one mainly forced on Arsenal fans by outsiders, and it never seems to go away, though Arteta’s Premier League title might quieten it.

But looking back in hindsight, most Arsenal fans would agree that Emery’s time in North London was a necessary transitional bridge, essentially allowing Arteta another year or two to learn under Pep Guardiola.

And Emery doesn’t come across as bitter, in fairness to him. He took those painful lessons at London Colney, won another two Europa Leagues and has transformed Aston Villa into a Champions League side.

But there’s no doubt that Arsenal found their favoured leader in Arteta.