This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Unai Emery appears to have taken a swipe at Arsene Wenger while defending his record at Arsenal, per Eurosport.
What’s he said?
The former PSG boss has come under increased scrutiny this week following the club’s disappointing 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United on Monday.
Asked about his record on Wednesday during a press conference, however, Emery pointed to the state the Gunners were in when he arrived following the departure of Arsene Wenger.
The Frenchman took the club to sixth in his final season, reached the third round of FA Cup, while they were runners-up in the Carabao Cup and reached the semi-finals of the Europa League. Emery, in his first season, improved their league finish to fifth, reached the fourth round of the FA Cup, the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup and took them to the final of the Europa League, where they were beaten by Chelsea.
He said: “Sometimes we forget the memory and we need to remember. “When I arrived here, this team needed to improve being more competitive.
“This team in the history was winning 1-0 and being very competitive, but it wasn’t enough. Then one process being competitive and with improved creativity.
“When I arrived here, the creativity is more or less good, but being competitive was worse. It was not enough. ‘I think last year I started to improve being competitive, also more or less creativity with some very good matches playing with that creativity.
“Last year we did not achieve, we were in the table by one point and in the Europa League final and we lost in the end. And OK, we were there. And this year – be there and take it.”
Tangible rewards
Arsenal need something to show for their supposed improvement.
Emery might well be right, in the sense that Wenger oversaw the club’s fall from being genuine title contenders to perennial top-four challengers.
But if he is going to take a swipe at a manager who won three Premier League titles during his time in north London, he needs to have some tangible trophies to show for himself too.
This season, the Gunners are fighting on four fronts and if Emery is to back up his words, he needs to win one of those competitions.
One has to feel that the Premier League is out of the question so it may well be the cup competitions on which he has to rely.
Ironically enough, Wenger won seven FA Cups too.
Emery has a long way to go to match that legacy.
