FEW at Arsenal were sorry to see the back of Unai Emery when he was kicked out of the door yesterday morning.
From the moment he replaced Arsene Wenger, the Spaniard bored the players rigid with his dull coaching drills and endless video sessions.
From the moment he replaced Arsene Wenger, the Spaniard bored the players rigid with his dull coaching drillsCredit: EPA
No one could question the sincerity or work ethic of the intense Emery as he tried — and failed — to impose his infamous project at the club.
But he was eventually dragged down by his inability to connect with his players and backroom staff.
In the end, he lost control of the dressing room as players mocked his broken English and farcical idea to appoint a five-man ‘leadership group’.
Even then he bottled picking his main skipper, allowing the squad to choose Granit Xhaka. And look how that turned out…
Emery made little attempt to make friends with backroom staff and was dismissive of Wenger’s long-term No 2 Steve Bould.
Even the office staff found him cold in their limited dealings with a man who had no interest in anything other than coaching manuals.
He arrived with a reputation as a coach who had struggled to cope with the monster egos of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe during his time at Paris Saint-Germain.
So Arsenal’s players, accustomed to Wenger’s gentle warmth and self- deprecating humour, suddenly had to deal with a man with no apparent ability to smile or enjoy himself.
Despite extensive efforts to learn English, his thick Basque accent made it almost impossible for him to become an effective communicator.
The young English players struggled to understand what was being asked of them, often relying on Bould and Freddie Ljungberg, the man left to pick up the pieces, for an explanation.
When Emirates execs went through the process of finding Wenger’s replacement, Emery was judged to have given by far the most impressive interview of all the contenders.
But all his detailed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the entire squad were delivered in Spanish with the help of a translator.
When it came to getting messages across personally, he simply could not replicate the success of his interview.
It was head of football Raul Sanllehi who pushed for Emery’s appointment last May, despite former chief exec Ivan Gazidis’ preference for Mikel Arteta.
Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham were glowing in their praise for Emery during last season’s 22-match unbeaten run which promised so much.
But doubts started to creep in when the team choked in the final month.
They failed to secure a top-four finish before being humiliated 4-1 by Chelsea in the Europa League final.
Yet even missing out on Champions League qualification for a third successive year did not diminish the board’s faith in Emery.
They backed him with a £146million summer spending spree and were convinced they had assembled a squad ready to challenge for the title.
But that support quickly drained away when it became apparent the team were even further behind their Big Six rivals.
Emery further compounded the problem with his heavy-handed dealings with influential players including Mesut Ozil, Laurent Koscielny, Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi.
His constant tactical changes and failure to establish a strong team identity left the players confused and demotivated.
Yet it was only in the last six weeks that serious concerns about Emery’s future surfaced.
The damaging 1-0 defeat at Sheffield United was confirmation that all was not well. But it was the speed of the decline which really came as a shock to the Arsenal board.
Suddenly the team was a runaway juggernaut hurtling downhill at breakneck speed. And Emery clearly had no idea how to apply the handbrake.
A fanbase split down the middle by Wenger’s exit were finally united by their belief that Emery had to go.
And when those supporters turned their ire towards the owners and Sanllehi, it was obvious the end was nigh.
Emery’s fate was sealed at the start of this week, when Sanllehi and Venkatesham flew to Colorado for crisis talks with billionaire owner Stan Kroenke and son Josh.
And the decision to axe him had been taken before Thursday’s shocking 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.
That game, in front of a half-empty Emirates, merely confirmed to the board they had to act.
An hour after that loss, Sanllehi was given the green light to wield the axe in a phone call with the owners.
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Emery feared it was over as he addressed the media and tried to put a brave face on a seventh game without a win.
But his suspicions were not confirmed until he drove to London Colney at 9am yesterday and was ushered into a meeting with Sanllehi, Venkatesham and technical director Edu.
He was immediately told of his fate, along with his backroom staff. At 10am the players arrived for a warm-down session ahead of tomorrow’s trip to Norwich.
But they were shepherded into a meeting and informed of Emery’s sacking and Ljungberg’s appointment as interim boss.
Premier League managers give their thoughts on Emery sacking
Emery did not address the squad but did say his individual farewells before clearing his desk.
He leaves with a £4m pay-off for the remaining seven months of his contract.
But also with a reputation which will struggle to recover from such a bruising 18 months.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
