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Spain midfielder Denis Suarez has claimed that Arsenal did not let Unai Emery finish his work at the club. He believes that the Aston Villa manager would have done as much as Mikel Arteta with a weaker squad.
Speaking to The Athletic, Suarez claimed that he was disappointed at Emery's sacking at the Emirates as the manager had pushed for his signing. He believes that the Spaniard is a top coach and was treated unfairly at the Emirates. He said:
“It was disappointing for me, but also for Unai. I know he was criticised for signing me, because he requested me and rejected other options because he knew me. Unai is a top coach and I think he was treated very unfairly at Arsenal… People were not as patient with him as they had been with Wenger in certain moments."
“When you change a coach that has been there for so long, you look for a new identity. I think Unai was creating one at the club… Unai took them to a Europa League final and finished in the top five, but they didn’t let him finish the job. It’s true that Arsenal are doing very well under Arteta, but it could have been the same with Unai… Plus, if you compare Arteta’s team with the one Unai had at Arsenal, it’s night and day. I’m not sure a single player from Unai’s side would make it into the line-up today," he added.
Suarez played just six matches for the Gunners – all of them under Unai Emery, after playing 46 times under the manager at Sevilla earlier in his career. He left the club for Celta Vigo after a few seasons on loan at Sevilla, Villarreal, and Barcelona.
When Unai Emery claimed he was not protected at Arsenal
Unai Emery spoke to the media in 2020 and claimed that he felt alone at Arsenal. He believes that the club's hierarchy failed to protect him and compared the situation with his previous clubs.
Emery said:
“At every club, I’ve been protected: Lorca, Almería, Valencia, PSG. At Sevilla I had Monchi. At PSG Nasser al-Khelaifi protected me in the dressing room and publicly. At Arsènal they weren’t able to, maybe because they came from Wenger, who did everything. They’d say: ‘We’re with you’ but in front of fans and the dressing room they couldn’t protect me. Truth is, I felt alone. And the results dictated I had to go."
Unai Emery managed 78 matches for the Gunners and won 43 times while scoring 156 goals. He took them to the Europa League final, where they lost to Chelsea.
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Edited by Ankush Das