Unai Emery has clarified why he failed to shake Mikel Arteta's hand straight after Aston Villa's loss at the Emirates Stadium, insisting the Arsenal manager kept him waiting. The result marked Villa's first defeat in almost two months, bringing an impressive 11-game winning streak to an end. They defended admirably during the opening 45 minutes but conceded shortly after the restart when Gabriel rose above Emi Martinez from a corner.
Martin Zubimendi then extended Arsenal's advantage moments later, before Leandro Trossard made it three past the hour mark. Shortly after his introduction, Gabriel Jesus struck to make it 4-0, though Ollie Watkins grabbed a late consolation, finishing from close range following excellent build-up play from Donyell Malen.
After the final whistle, Emery lingered to exchange pleasantries with Arteta but ultimately made his way to the changing room as his opposite number continued celebrating with his backroom staff.
"It is simple, you can watch. Always my routine is quick," Emery explained when questioned about the missed handshake.
"I shake hands and then go with my players and coaches into the dressing room. I was waiting. He [Arteta] was waiting and he was with his coaches. I decided to go inside. For me it is no problem."
Reflecting on the match itself, Emery commented: "We competed fantastic in the first half and we had momentum. We had corners and defended well too. We didn't concede a corner in the first half.
"We felt comfortable, but we conceded the first goal in the second half. Onana's injury didn't help us as he is important from set-pieces and in the middle.
"We didn't give up and we competed like we were doing. We were not giving up and we scored one goal and had other chances. Arsenal are the best team in the league and they are the favourite to win the title.
"I don't know if it is the day 19 or 20 because we have played Arsenal twice and then we play Nottingham. But I am happy with how we have set our ambitious demands."
Arteta was also quizzed on the non-handshake in his post-match press conference and said: "You saw it but it's okay, it's all good. It’s okay, that's part of the game and it's not an issue."
Asked for his thoughts on the game, the Spaniard added: "Unlike the last few games where we had so many big situations, today we were very prolific and accurate to make the difference, especially when you play against a team that is in such a moment.
"They are really good, they are extremely well-coached, very clear what they want to do, how they want to hurt you and they are very efficient at it.
"So they can drive you into a game that is constantly a very thin line, and you have to navigate it. It can be uncomfortable navigating through that and we did it in a difficult moment and then we took the opportunities in a great way."