Unai Emery has been sacked as manager of Arsenal after the side’s continued poor run of form, ending his 18-month tenure at the club and becoming the third in the Premier League this season to be sacked.
The 48 year old had was appointed in May 2018, after finding success at both Sevilla and PSG but struggled throughout his tenure in North London, despite leading the Gunners to the Europa League final last season.
The announcement comes less than 24 hours after a 2-1 Europa League defeat to SC Freiburg at a half-empty Emirates Stadium, resulting in yet another chorus of boos from disgruntled supporters.
“Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand. We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success.”
Josh Kroenke- Arsenal Owner
That result was Arsenal seventh consecutive game without a win, their worst run of results since 1992. This had heaped pressure on the Spaniard of late, with the fans showing more discomfort at each passing game.
Arsenal have failed to win a Premier League match since 6th October and last laboured to a 2-2 draw at home with Southampton will travel to Norwich on Sunday afternoon.
Low dressing room morale has also been cited as a reason for Unai’s departure, including busts-up with star players Mesut Özil and Granit Xhaka being just two examples.
It is confirmed that ex-Arsenal player Freddie Ljungberg will take over as caretaker manager until a permanent replacement can be found and he has already taken charge of a first-team training session this morning.
Two people that are in the running to become permanent manager are Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo and former Chelsea, AC Milan and Bayern manager Carlo Ancelotti, who currently manages Italian side Napoli.
Arsenal fans have been taking to twitter to show their please at the announcement and it is clear that the overwhelming majority of Arsenal fans are in support with the board’s decision to replace Emery.
He leaves with 43 victories in his 78 games, a mere 55% win rate, and selected a total of nine different captains during his time at the helm of the North London club.
Emery’s time at Arsenal can be summarised as a talented but ultimately flawed coach who showed lots of muddled thinking and lacked the ability to play a side that maximised the best players and was defensively shocking.
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