Upon all of his success at Aston Villa, Unai Emery’s time as Arsenal manager has now begun to unravel in recent months.
And in an in-depth look at Emery’s first year at Villa by The Athletic, it has been revealed that one element of the Spaniard’s departure from Arsenal did surprise him.
Upon replacing Arsene Wenger, Emery was keen to build a project with a long term vision.
Explaining his willingness to develop and give game time to several youngsters including Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka and Eddie Nketiah.
However, when he was let go by Arsenal, Unai Emery was shocked at how quickly the club’s faith in him had evaporated.
And that may go some way to explain why Emery has reportedly been so keen to build a structure at Villa that can withstand dips in form.
Given all the success Mikel Arteta has had since, it’s easy to remember Emery’s time at the Emirates as a failure.
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However, Emery did do a vital interim job for Arsenal, and his efforts with Saka in particular are bearing fruit now.
Unai Emery shouldn’t regret his time at Arsenal
Emery did have an almost impossible task in North London.
Rather than his credentials being at fault, it did seem as if the club were just too unstable in their hierarchical structure at the time.
And we’ve seen plenty of examples of how difficult it can be to start a fresh, new project amid difficult internal politics.
Nonetheless, both Arsenal and Unai Emery are now thriving in their respective paths, and both will have learnt a lot from that period.
And as stated, Arsenal can be grateful for the role the Spaniard played in giving Saka his chance.
The 22-year-old is now constantly being lauded by the likes of Declan Rice – who was so happy to see Saka wear the captain’s armband at Chelsea.
And given how close Emery came with Arsenal, it’ll be interesting to see if he can lift a European trophy with Aston Villa.
A brilliant manager in his own right, one who is now appreciated by Arsenal fans – even if it was difficult at the time.