Arsenal have moved to appoint Unai Emery as the successor to Arsène Wenger. The club have conducted a thorough recruitment process as they look to replace Wenger – their manager of almost 22 years – who departed at the end of the season and Mikel Arteta had been considered as the favourite for the past week or so.
However, the signs on Monday were that Emery, the former Paris St-Germain and Sevilla manager, was set to be chosen. The club have spoken to him and a decision is expected to be confirmed later in the week.
Emery is a safer bet in terms of his experience and, in the end, it is this factor that has swayed the decision of Ivan Gazidis, the Arsenal chief executive, who has led the recruitment drive. Arteta, the former Arsenal player, who is now a member of Pep Guardiola’s coaching staff at Manchester City, has not yet managed a club whereas Emery has been in the business since 2005, when he cut his teeth at Lorca Deportiva in his native Spain.
The 46-year-old has gone on to take charge at Almería, Valencia, Spartak Moscow, Sevilla and, most recently, PSG – clubs of mounting profile – and he has impressed Gazidis, even though he is not fluent in English.
Timeline Unai Emery: the story so far Show Hide The 46-year-old's managerial career began in Spain's second division and has taken him to Russia, France and major European honours Playing career cut short While Arsène Wenger is being unveiled at Arsenal, Emery settles in at Toledo in Spain's second tier after leaving his first club, Real Sociedad. Emery, a left-sided midfielder, also turned out for Racing Ferrol, Leganés and Lorca Deportiva before a knee injury ended his playing career at the age of 32. Fairytale at Lorca Emery is offered the manager's position at Lorca Deportiva after his knee injury, and goes on to lead the team into Spain's second division. In his first full season, Lorca miss promotion to La Liga by just five points. Breakthrough at Almería Emery comes to the attention of Spain's big clubs after guiding Almería to their first promotion to La Liga, and securing an eighth-place finish in the top flight. He is snapped up by Valencia in the summer of 2008. Reviving Valencia Emery replaces Ronald Koeman at cash-strapped Valencia and sets about returning the club to the Champions League. He leaves Valencia in 2012 after three consecutive third-place league finishes. Failed Moscow mission The first blot on Emery's managerial copy book comes in Russia, where he lasts just six months at Spartak Moscow, and is sacked after a 5-1 derby defeat to Dynamo. Europa League three-peat After returning to La Liga with Sevilla in January 2013, Emery leads them to three consecutive Europa League titles. Sevilla beat Liverpool 3-1 in Basle to complete the hat-trick in the manager's penultimate game in charge. Champions League pain in Spain PSG finish second to Arsenal in their Champions League group, and then thrash Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie. On the verge of a European breakthrough, they lose the second leg 6-1 and crash out. PSG also lose out to Monaco in the French title race. Signing off with a treble Emery wins Ligue 1 and both Cup competitions in France to take his trophy haul at the club to five, but another last-16 Champions League exit leads to his departure at the end of the season.
Emery is happy to work within the management structure that Gazidis has put in place at the Emirates Stadium – in which there are prominent recruitment roles for Raúl Sanllehí and Sven Mislintat. He enjoyed eye-catching success at Sevilla, where he won three consecutive Europa Leagues, and he won the championship at PSG in this past season, although his relative failure in the Champions League, in the shape of a last-16 exit against Real Madrid, cost him his job. He has been replaced by Thomas Tuchel – the one-time Arsenal target.
Arteta had a meeting with the Arsenal hierarchy last week and he was confident that he would get the job. Guardiola had said he would not stand in Arteta’s way and talks had progressed to the point where the potential make-up of his backroom staff had been discussed.
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Arteta ticked plenty of boxes for Gazidis, who was looking for somebody to represent the club’s values, including giving youth a chance, and play fast and attractive football.
Gazidis had made it clear he was not afraid to make a left-field appointment, noting on the day Wenger’s departure was confirmed that the Frenchman had not been “on many people’s radar screens” in 1996.
But Emery, too, ticked the boxes and, crucially, he came to look like less of a gamble. It is understood that Arteta was told his lack of experience came to count against him. Gazidis is not a man synonymous with risk-taking. After careful consideration, analysing each argument from every conceivable angle, he has come to see Emery as the outstanding selection.
The new manager is expected to have around £50m, plus money generated from sales, to spend on reshaping the squad, which is broadly in line with what Wenger was granted, annually, in recent seasons. It is not a lavish budget and it is clear that the new man’s coaching skills will have to be up to scratch from the outset.
Santi Cazorla, the Arsenal midfielder, had been linked with a possible player-coach role under Arteta but he has now left the club upon the expiry of his contract. He has not played since he injured his achilles in October 2016, although he remains determined to carry on as a player.
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Gazidis said: “Santi is always one of my favourite players to watch. His natural ability with both feet, his speed of thought and movement were central to our best performances in recent years. He plays with a joy and freedom which is very rare. We wish him well for the future and thank him for his important contribution to our club.”
Bola.com, London - Unai Emery diberitakan sedang melakukan negosiasi dengan Arsenal untuk menggantikan Arsene Wenger, seperti dilansir Sky Sports pada Senin (21/5/2018).
Sebelumnya, Emery telah sepakat berpisah dengan Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) meski berhasil memberikan tujuh gelar dalam dua tahun. Tidak perlu waktu lama bagi Emery untuk mendapatkan pekerjaan baru.
Arsenal dikabarkan tertarik menggunakan jasa pelatih asal Spanyol itu. Jurnalis berpengalaman asal Spanyol, Guillem Balague, meyakini Emery sedang bernegosiasi dengan Arsenal.
"Saya mendengar Unai Emery berada di London untuk berbicara dengan (pihak) Arsenal. Faktanya, Emery tidak memiliki pekerjaan apapun, kandidat terkuat, dan ingin kembali menjadi pelatih," ujar Balague.
"Kita berbicara mengenai seseorang yang memiliki pekerjaan hebat selama kariernya, seperti yang dilakukannya di Sevilla. Ini hanya sepekan setelah dia dinobatkan sebagai pelatih terbaik Prancis," lanjutnya.
Namun, Emery bukan satu-satunya kandidat menggantikan posisi Wenger. Masih ada beberapa pelatih lain seperti Patrick Vieira dan Mikel Arteta yang juga masuk sebagai kandidat manajer Arsenal .
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Emery to be named next Arsenal manager after club decides against Arteta
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A late U-turn on the part of the Gunners saw PSG's former boss chosen ahead of Arteta, who had been tipped to take over from Arsene Wenger
Unai Emery is set to be named new Arsenal manager after the Gunners made a last-minute decision not to offer Mikel Arteta the vacant job at the Emirates Stadium, Goal understands.
Arteta seemed ready to replace Arsene Wenger as the man in charge after positive talks last week, with chief executive Ivan Gazidis in particular a keen admirer of the 36-year-old.
Gazidis felt a younger coach would slot better into a modern European football structure, complemented by head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and new head of football relations Raul Sanllehi.
Arteta had even agreed in principle to return to the club he represented between 2011 and 2016, but a late U-turn saw the club turn to Emery instead as Gazidis proved unable to gather unanimous support for the former midfielder.
Emery, 46, became available after leaving Paris-Saint Germain at the end of the 2017-18 campaign, having won the Ligue 1 title, two Coupes de France, two Coupes de la Ligue and two French Supercups during his two seasons in charge there.
Arsenal insist that they ran a 'thorough process to find their successor to Arsene Wenger which included 'many hours of research analysis and interviews with prime candidates'.
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The former PSG boss travelled to London on Monday to discuss terms – having previously met with West Ham representatives – and is expected to sign a two-year deal with an option for one additional season.
The Spaniard, who previously worked at Sevilla, where he won three consecutive Europa League titles, and Valencia, carved out a reputation for fluid, attacking football with the Andalucian side.
He is expected to come to north London with his own technical staff, including a new assistant manager, physiotherapist and video production specialist.
Unai Emery will hold talks with Arsenal to discuss the possibility of succeeding Arsene Wenger
Unai Emery is the new frontrunner for the Arsenal job after Mikel Arteta withdrew from the running to succeed Arsene Wenger, according to Sky sources.
Emery, who left his job at Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month, was in London on Monday for talks with the Gunners.
The 46-year-old Spaniard led the French Ligue 1 side to a domestic treble this season - but did not have his two-year contract extended, and was replaced by Thomas Tuchel.
Arteta had long been in the frame and is understood to have wanted assurances over the role he will play in Arsenal's transfer policy before agreeing to join the club as new head coach.
The 36-year-old, who part of Pep Guardiola's title-winning staff at Manchester City, also wanted guarantees of a significant say in which players are to be sold to recoup funds for further investment, with the club's summer budget reportedly at £50m.
Arsenal are also in talks with Mikel Arteta, who is currently a coach at Manchester City
Arteta is thought to be happy to remain at City with Guardiola, who has been highly complementary of the former midfielder, should he not have been given assurances over Arsenal's transfer policy.
Former Barcelona coach Luis Enrique, who emerged as an early contender, is understood to have asked for similar guarantees during discussions with Arsenal.
Sky Sports Spanish football expert Guillem Balague told Sky Sports News on Monday: "I am hearing that Unai Emery is in London to hold talks with Arsenal. That has to do with the fact he is free, a top candidate and wants the job.
"We are talking about someone who has done such a great job in his career with the likes of Sevilla and only last week he was named manager of the year in France for the job that he did at PSG."
