Mikel Arteta has admitted it was ‘helpful’ that he wasn’t the first manager to succeed Arsene Wenger in the Arsenal dugout and claims Unai Emery deserves ‘respect’ for doing so.
Arteta was appointed head coach of the north London side in December 2019 after Emery’s year-and-a-half stint in charge came to an end following the Spaniard’s sacking.
And the 40-year-old insists he has a lot of ‘admiration’ for Emery – who is set to take charge of Aston Villa for the first time this weekend – having been appointed Arsenal coach just 10 days after Wenger’s sacking.
The current Arsenal boss said: ‘I think there are certain eras that you know are going to last forever and we’re always going to be the coach or the person that was trying to succeed and try to take a lot of the things he [Wenger] left and the legacy he left for this football club.
‘Looking back, probably yeah it was helpful [not being the man directly after Wenger]. I don’t know. Hopefully yes, hopefully it was the right call.’
In 2018, Wenger called an end to his 22-year stint as Arsenal coach and was replaced by newly-appointed Villa boss Emery.
The task of succeeding the club’s all-time longest-serving coach proved too much for the Spaniard who was sacked just a year-and-a-half later.
Despite his short-lived stay in north London, Arteta was full of praise for Emery, as he said: ‘Talking about Unai coming back to this league, what I feel about Unai is admiration.
‘If you look at his curriculum, what he’s done in the different countries he’s been, how he’s adapted, what he’s won, I think he deserves a lot of admiration and respect for what he’s done.’
Despite taking Arsenal to the Europa League final in 2018-19 – which they lost 4-1 to Chelsea – Emery was dismissed just three months into the next season.
He was appointed Villarreal manager in 2020 and just a year later he had clinched silverware for the club after beating Manchester United on penalties in the Europa League final.
He also took the LaLiga side to a Champions League semi-final last year but they were beaten by Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool.
The 51-year-old is preparing to take charge of his first game for the midland side after being appointed last month.
The Spaniard was Villa’s preferred choice after Steven Gerrard’s tenure at the club came to an end following a 3-0 thrashing at the hands of newly-promoted Fulham.
Emery had not been able to get to work with the group – as he’d been awaiting the approval of his work permit – but has now got going with training.
He’ll take charge of the side for the first-time this weekend when they host in-form Manchester United.
