Report: What Unai Emery insisted on doing at Arsenal that saw him fail as Gunners boss

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Arsenal fans might have been looking on with envy at former manager Unai Emery this week, but there is more than one reason why he isn’t the Gunners boss anymore.

Emery left Arsenal after a series of poor performances and results led the Gunners board to look elsewhere. Of course, since then, Mikel Arteta has been backed by the Kroenke’s and things have picked up this season in the main. Arsenal are still in the top four race, albeit a few results have been poor lately.

But looking back at Emery’s reign and why it ended, The Independent has claimed that a key reason for Emery’s downfall at Arsenal was actually an insistence on speaking English in the dressing room. Miguel Delaney writes in his latest Reading The Game Newsletter how Emery’s stance with speaking English held him back. It is believed he operates better when being able to get his messages across clearly.

Delaney writes how that is how Emery has enjoyed success with Villarreal. His players understand his messages and tactics fully. Meanwhile, at Arsenal, his lack of perfect English meant this didn’t always come across how he wanted.

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There’s no denying Unai Emery could have had some success with Arsenal. Maybe a bit more patience and better quality signings were required. However, the note here on his language issues are interesting.

It suggests a coach who was keen to get things done properly in the language of the country he worked in. Ultimately, though, it led to his downfall.

Arsenal have now moved on as we know. But there will be some looking on at what Emery has done at Villarreal and wondering what might have been with the Gunners.