Unai Emery is set to join Arsenal after two years with Paris St-Germain
Arsenal are set to appoint Unai Emery as their new manager.
Manchester City assistant manager and former Gunners captain Mikel Arteta was strong favourite to succeed Arsene Wenger.
Emery emerged as the unanimous choice following a recruitment process in which all candidates were spoken to.
The 46-year-old Spaniard is available after leaving Paris St-Germain where he won one Ligue 1 title and four domestic cups in two seasons in charge.
Previously he guided Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League triumphs between 2014 and 2016.
Emery announced last month he would leave French champions PSG when his contract expired at the end of the season. He was replaced by former Borussia Dortmund boss Thomas Tuchel, who had also been linked with the Arsenal job.
Emery's English is not completely fluent but the language barrier is not expected to be a problem.
An announcement and news conference are expected later this week.
After Wenger's departure was announced, the betting odds on Emery replacing him were at one stage as long as 66-1 - placing him behind the likes of former Tottenham manager Tim Sherwood.
Other candidates included Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri and former Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti, as well as former Arsenal players Arteta, Thierry Henry and Patrick Vieira.
The recruitment process was led by Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis, head of football relations Raul Sanllehi and head of recruitment Sven Mislintat - though the final decision would be down to majority shareholder and owner Stan Kroenke.
Wenger, 68, left the Gunners at the end of season after 22 years in charge, during which he won three Premier League titles and seven FA Cups, including two Doubles.
Analysis
Former Arsenal striker Ian Wright on BBC Radio 5 live
What's going on at Arsenal? Where's Unai Emery come from? I can't get it out of my head.
You'd have thought that by now they would have known exactly what's going on.
Emery has had loads of money to spend at Paris St-Germain and now has to come to Arsenal with £50m with a bunch of players who have been playing in second gear.
His coaching ability will have to get going instantly and he will have to find some gems instantly.
I wouldn't be disgruntled as an Arsenal fan about Unai Emery, I think the fact he's come out of left field when everyone's thinking 'it's going to be Arteta', that's the only problem. If we do see a difference in intensity, drive and consistency everybody will get onside and that's all Arsenal fans want to see.
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.
Per Mertesacker: ‘As Arsenal academy manager I will challenge the players’ mindsets’ Read more
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.”
Unai Emery is the next manager of Arsenal - but what about the man behind the job title?.
The 46-year-old Spaniard is, like the man he is set to succeed at the Emirates Arsene Wenger, a football nut.
Former Spain winger Joaquin, who played under Emery at Valencia, said of his old boss: "Emery put on so many videos I ran out of popcorn!
"He's obsessed with football - it's practically an illness. He's one of the best managers I've had. I worked with him for three years. I couldn't handle a fourth!"
Merci Arsene: Wenger's last home game with Arsenal
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A near 22-year stint like Wenger's may be out of the question then, but Arsenal fans would no doubt settle for a short reign were he to replicate some of the success he has had in his managerial career.
As a player, Emery, whose grandfather and father were both footballers, spent most of his career in the Spanish second tier prior to retiring at 32 due to a knee injury.
As a manager, Emery made a greater impact, guiding his first two clubs Lorca and Almeria to promotions prior to landing a job at Valencia.
There were three successive top-three finishes with Los Che before a short-lived, unsuccessful spell at Spartak Moscow. On Emery's website there are a list of achievements next to each club he has taken charge of. For the Spartak entry, where he spent six months, there is nothing.
Back in Spain, Emery restored his reputation by leading Sevilla to a trio of Europa League titles, the most recent of which came in a final against Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool in 2016.
At Paris St Germain he would win one Ligue 1 championship and four domestic trophies across a two-year span, but there were also a pair of last-16 Champions League exits.
Emery heads to Arsenal after an up and ultimately down period with PSG (Getty )
The most notable came against Barcelona last year when PSG threw away a 4-0 first-leg lead to crash out.
The video of that 6-1 second-leg loss at the Nou Camp would have made for grim viewing, as have some of Arsenal's later performances of the Wenger era.
The story of Barcelona's incredible comeback against PSG
13 show all The story of Barcelona's incredible comeback against PSG
1/13 Barcelona's night got off to the best possible start with Luis Suarez scoring in the 3rd minute. Getty
2/13 Excellent improvisation from Andres Iniesta caused Layvin Kurzawa to convert the ball into his own net. Getty
3/13 After the half-time interval, Lionel Messi put his name on the scoresheet from the penalty spot. Getty
4/13 However, when Edinson Cavani grabbed a vital away goal for the visitors, Barca's hopes looked lost. Getty
5/13 Cavani could not hide his emotion after scoring the goal which, at that point, had looked to have ended Barcelona's hopes of qualifying. Getty
6/13 Three minutes from time, Neymar struck back with a splendid free-kick which beat Kevin Trapp at his near post. Getty
7/13 Into stoppage time, and after Marquinhos' foul, Neymar converted Barcelona's second penalty of the night. Getty
8/13 In the final minute of added on time, Neymar's lofted pass found Sergi Roberto in the box. Getty
9/13 The 25-year-old lifted the ball over Trapp and into the far corner to complete the Champions League's greatest-ever comeback. Getty
10/13 Sergi Roberto was duly mobbed by his teammates, as scenes of pandemonium spread around the Nou Camp. Getty
11/13 Unai Emery, meanwhile, could not look. Getty
12/13 As our chief football writer Miguel Delaney wrote, the night was one of the sublime, the ridiculous, and the historic. Getty
13/13 Barcelona progress into the quarter-finals, along with Bayern Munich, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund. Getty
Emery posted a message on his Twitter account when Wenger's departure was confirmed last month - a post which has now taken on greater significance
He said: "Impossible to talk about Arsenal, the premierleague and the profession of coach without mentioning Arsene Wenger, one of the references probably. Thank you Arsene!"
Emery does bring European pedigree with him (Getty
For a man so consumed by video analysis - he claimed he spends "12 hours" watching clips for each game - Wenger's Gunners will now likely be his reference point over the coming weeks.
And though Emery has European pedigree and an impressive CV, Arsenal fans seem unsure if he can produce a team capable of compiling the highlight reels they want to see.
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Arsenal are set to appoint the former Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla manager Unai Emery as the man to replace Arsene Wenger.
After a thorough process, the Emirates hierarchy decided that Emery’s vast experience was key, and meant he would be offered the job ahead of former player Mikel Arteta. While the Manchester City coach greatly impressed in interviews, and sources say he ticked many of the boxes, the fact this would have been the Manchester City coach’s first managerial job also weighed on the Arsenal decision maker’s minds. Arteta’s camp are understood to have been told on Monday that they were going with Emery, with the news also spreading to many Arsenal players.
Emery, 46, departed PSG this summer after the club opted not to renew his contract following a two-year spell, instead appointing Thomas Tuchel as his successor.
Arsenal candidates to replace Arsene Wenger
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1/11 Joachim Löw Age: 58
Current club: German national team
Honours: Austrian Bundesliga, 2001/02
Fifa World Cup, 2014
Fifa Confederations Cup, 2017 Getty
2/11 Mikel Arteta Age: 35
Current club: Manchester City Getty
3/11 Brendan Rodgers Age: 44
Current club: Celtic
Honours: Championship playoffs
Scottish League Cup
Scottish Premiership Getty
4/11 Leonardo Jardim Age: 42
Current club: Monaco
Honours: Segunda Liga
Superleague Greece
Greek Cup
Ligue 1 Getty
5/11 Patrick Vieira Age: 40
Current club: New York City FC
Honours: None
6/11 Diego Simeone Age: 47
Current club: Atletico Madrid
Honours: Argentine Primera Division x2 (Estudiantes de La Plata and River Plate)
La Liga
Copa del Rey
Spanish Supercup
Europa League
Uefa Super Cup Getty
7/11 Domenico Tedesco Age: 32
Current club: Schalke Bongarts/Getty Images
8/11 Massimiliano Allegri Age: 49
Current club: Juventus
Honours: Serie C1 (Sassuolo)
Serie A x3 (AC Milan, 2x Juventus)
Italian Super Cup x 2 (AC Milan, Juventus)
Coppa Italia x 2 (Juventus) Getty
9/11 Thomas Tuchel Age: 44
Current club: Free agent
Honours: DFB-Pokal Getty
10/11 Luis Enrique Age: 47
Current club: Free agent
Honours: La Liga x2 Copa del Rey x3 Supercopa de Espana Champions League Super Cup Club World Cup Getty
11/11 Carlo Ancelotti Age: 58
Current club: Free agent Intertoto Cup (Juventus) Serie A (AC Milan) Coppa Italia (Ac Milan) Supercoppa Italiana (AC Milan) Champions League x3 (AC Milan x2, Real Madrid) Super Cup x2 (AC Milan) Club World Cup (AC Milan) Premier League (Chelsea) FA Cup (Chelsea) Ligue 1 (Paris Saint-Germain) Copa del Rey (Real Madrid) Bundesliga (Bayern Munich) DFL Supercup x2 (Bayern Munich) Bongarts/Getty Images
Emery has been pushing for the Arsenal job since leaving PSG and met club officials earlier this month to hold preliminary talks about the possibility of taking over at the Emirates.
Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis has been determined to complete as thorough a process as possible in the manager search, even while continuing talks with Arteta, and he has been persuaded by Emery given his pedigree. The club are conscious of the supporters’ reaction to any appointment, and how relevant Arteta’s lack of experience is in that regard.
The older manager’s experience – having been so successful in winning knockout trophies at Sevilla, and then a title at PSG – is said to have been key.
It was also felt that Emery might better suit the parameters of the role defined by the club.
Many around Arsenal felt Arteta was so persuasive in his interviews that he was very close to getting the job, with staff openly talking about it all last week. There were some snags with the formation of his backroom staff, however, and in the meantime key Arsenal figures felt that Emery ticked more of the boxes.
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