Unai Emery did not shake hands with any of the Arsenal staff after Aston Villa’s win over the Gunners on Saturday.
Unai Emery did not have the opportunity to shake hands with Mikel Arteta, who replaced him in the Arsenal dugout in 2019, as the Gunners’ boss was forced to watch this match from the stands due to a suspension.
After the final whistle, Emery admitted that he did not shake hands with any of the Arsenal coaching staff who had overseen the match from the technical area in Arteta’s absence.
As quoted by The Mirror, when asked if approached for a handshake, the Villa boss said, “no, because Arteta wasn’t on the bench. I gave my hand to the workers inside because they were there when I was there, but only with the people I coached with and who worked with me. There was nothing personal. It was because it wasn’t Arteta. I respect a lot Arsenal and Arteta, I respect a lot the workers there. I have nothing negative against them.”
Unai Emery was treated harshly by Arsenal
Understandably, Emery was quick to want to join in with the Villa fans’ celebrations, as the Midlands outfit had just earned a 1-0 victory over the north London club.
Equally, whilst he denies that it is the case, it would be understandable if Emery harbours some ill-will towards Arsenal. It has been suggested that he was treated harshly in his time in charge at the Emirates Stadium, as he was sacked after just 18 months at the helm.
The Gunners showed a far greater willingness to stick by his successor, Arteta, through tough periods. The former midfielder kept his job despite recording consecutive eighth-place finishes in the Premier League. Arsenal never finished so low on Emery’s watch, yet he was still moved on.
In any case, Emery will surely have derived some satisfaction from getting one over on his former employers on Saturday.
Mikel Arteta must demand improvements
Arsenal’s focus now must be on getting back on track in Premier League terms. Following Tuesday’s trip to the Netherlands to take on PSV Eindhoven in their final Champions League group stage clash, they host Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.
Arteta will know that nothing but a win will do against the Seagulls. Even at this stage in the campaign, every single point is precious, ahead of what looks set to be a fiercely-contested title race in the second half of the season.
Arsenal were far too profligate in front of goal against Aston Villa. They need to be more efficient and clinical in the coming weeks.
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