Unai Emery floundered as Arsenal boss but transformed Aston Villa – the Spaniard will aim to haunt the Gunners again after crushing their title dream

It didn’t take long for Aston Villa fans to realise what a fine manager they had on their hands when Unai Emery first walked onto Villa Park.

After an unimpressive period for Steven Gerrard, the former Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Villarreal manager was appointed as the new manager in October 2022.

He inherited a team that had no clear identity, that was at the wrong end of the table and that seemed to lack any self-confidence.

But by the end of his first game, Emery had shown what his squad was capable of, beating Man United 3-1 with just three changes from the XI that had been in the 3-0 defeat to Fulham, which forced Gerrard off. The three players who were missing all came from the bench.

It was a performance that hinted at what was to come: renewed energy, an intensity that makes your opponents tremble and a sharp edge that deserves a place in the top four.

It was the start of a chain of events that saw Villa flourish over the course of the season and ultimately result in a Champions League ticket for the 2024-25 season. But it also raised another intriguing question: why didn’t it work at Arsenal?

This is a manager who won a French domestic treble with PSG the season before he arrived at Arsenal, and lifted the Europa League trophy – his fourth – the season after he left. There is nothing wrong with Emery’s coaching credentials.

In North London, the Emery era was one of fits and starts, false starts and ultimately flawed structures. The reality is that Arsenal were not the same club they are now and were not ready for Emery.

Emery inherited the throne from Wenger, the best manager the club has ever led and one of the best English footballers of all time.

But it wasn’t just filling shoes that were always going to be too big that hampered Emery’s progress. He was coming to a club that had relied on one figure for so long that there was now a rush to completely overhaul the Gunners’ operations, but one that ultimately failed.

The club was instable, with the football operations staff tripled before Ivan Gazidis, then managing director in North London, left for AC Milan a month into the Emery era.

The famous triumvirate of Gazidis, Sven Mislintat and Raul Sanllehi was formed to restore order and create structure, with each department (general manager, recruitment and football relations) dealing with an aspect of the club, headed by a head coach.

This forced Emery to fight for transfers that suited his style – a failed attempt to get Wilfried Zaha to beat Nicolas Pepe is one example – and eventually tensions began to rise.

The team he inherited was a far cry from what it is now. The team we saw laughing and having fun as one cohesive unit in the desert in Dubai last winter has come on leaps and bounds from the cliques of a few years ago.

Emery famously explained that one of his biggest jobs was to tear down the walls at Arsenal so they could build again. But cliques had already formed within the squad under Wenger, with some players reportedly questioning Emery’s judgement and even making fun of his accent.

Therein lies another hurdle: the manager’s poor English. While his first interview impressed the Gunners with his surprisingly deep knowledge of the academy, his English skills were found wanting. He also reportedly mispronounced the names of one of his colleagues after a meeting.

His press conferences were attended by translators and long, drawn-out data-driven analysis sessions proved unpopular with the team, with Bukayo Saka even admitting that he would repeat instructions from Freddie Ljungberg.

By the time Emery was put out of his misery, the damage had been done. There was still some good left after an impressive 22-game unbeaten run, but Granit Xhaka being booed off the pitch was symptomatic of how much the fans had lost their love for the club..

But Emery did not want his name added to the long list of players who had impressed in Europe but failed to make it in the Premier League.

He went on to win another Europa League and further hone his skills to become one of the most sought-after minds in the game, with a newly acquired Newcastle keen to let him take the reins before Eddie Howe was snapped up.

His qualities were renewed and he returned as an improved version of the previous Emery. He had also worked on his English skills and transformed Aston Villa from a team drifting aimlessly towards a fight for survival at the end of the season into a force to be reckoned with within 18 months.

And it wasn’t Man City that stopped Arsenal from finally lifting another Premier League trophy last season. The Gunners took four points off Pep Guardiola’s side last season, but do you remember who was the only team to achieve the double over Arsenal?

The hallmark of great managers is how to make the most of what they already have. Emery transformed Ollie Watkins into a world-class striker. Douglas Luiz went from a midfielder to a disruptor in the middle of the pitch who was bought by Italian giants Juventus last summer.

Lucas Digne’s time at the club seemed over, but now he has loaned Alex Merino and Ezri Konsa has become England’s saviour at the Euros, replacing Marc Guehi in sublime fashion.

Villa have become a thorn in the side of the establishment, and that is largely down to the work of one man. And that man has the chance this weekend to remind his former employers what they missed, and give the Gunners an early title shot if they haven’t learned their lessons from last time out.