Aston Villa have appointed Unai Emery as their new manager after sacking Steven Gerrard. So, HITC Football takes a look back at his first XI at Arsenal and where the players are now.
Emery takes over the Villa Park helm following two years at La Liga outfit Villarreal. The 50-year-old returned to his native Spain in 2020 after a brief period out of the game following his time in north London. He went on to oversee 66 wins in 132 El Submari Groguet games.
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The former Real Sociedad midfielder’s reputation had taken a dent whilst in charge at the Emirates Stadium. Emery replaced Gunners icon Arsene Wenger at the capital club in 2018 on a three-year contract. Yet he only saw out 18 months before Mikel Arteta then arrived.
Arsenal won 43 and drew 15 of the club’s 78 matches under Emery in all competitions. He also led the Gunners to the Europa League final in his first term in charge. But the Emirates Stadium side parted with the Spaniard in November 2018 having not won in seven fixtures.
Aston Villa have hired Unai Emery as manager after sacking Steven Gerrard
Emery now gets a second crack at the Premier League after Aston Villa hired the four-time Europa League winner as Gerrard’s replacement. BBC Sport notes the Villans paid Villarreal a £5m clause to buy the Hondarribia native from his contract at the Estadio de la Ceramica.
Aston Villa have confirmed the ex-Paris Saint-Germain coach will take over on November 1 after his work permit formalities are completed. Caretaker Aaron Danks will oversee their trip to Newcastle United this Saturday ahead of Emery’s debut against Manchester United.
Emery has taken over an Aston Villa team 15th in the table after Danks led the Birmingham outfit to a 4-0 win over Brentford. The Villans handed Danks the reigns on an interim basis after sacking Gerrard after 11 months last Thursday night following a 3-0 defeat at Fulham.
Gerrard only replaced Dean Smith in the dugout last November and went on to manage 40 games in all competitions. The 42-year-old took 13 wins and eight draws while in charge at Villa Park. But just two of his 12 Premier League wins came in his last 15 games at the helm.
So, now that Aston Villa have confirmed Emery as Gerrard’s successor, HITC Football takes a look back at the 2017/18 Ligue 1 winner’s first Arsenal XI and where the players are now.
Petr Cech (GK): Aston Villa boss started the Czech icon after Arsenal hired Emery
New Aston Villa boss Emery started Chelsea icon Petr Cech between the sticks in his debut game in charge of Arsenal. But the Czech Republic hero could not help the Gunners avoid a 2-0 defeat at home to Manchester City on the opening day of the Premier League season.
Wenger had signed Cech from Chelsea in 2015 and he went on to play 139 fixtures in north London. But he lost the starting role within months of Emery joining and retired at the end of 2018/19. The 40-year-old then returned to Stamford Bridge as an advisor until this June.
Hector Bellerin (RB): Arsenal terminated the Barcelona star’s contract in September
Arsenal terminated Hector Bellerin’s contract in September to allow the right-back to join Barcelona as a free agent. The 27-year-old had left the Catalan club for the Gunners in his youth in 2011. The four-cap Spaniard went on to play 239 games for the north Londoners.
Sokratis (CB): Aston Villa boss sealed a deal with BVB after Arsenal hired Emery
Arsenal signed Sokratis Papastathopoulos off Borussia Dortmund for £17.5m in June 2018. The Guardian reported at the time that Emery had identified the Greece international as a top target. The 34-year-old was his third arrival after Bernd Leno and Stephan Lichtsteiner.
Sokratis would amass 69 games while at the Emirates Stadium, including 54 under Emery. Arteta quickly demoted the 90-cap defender to a reserve role after taking charge. He even failed to play at all in 2020/21 before the Gunners released him and he joined Olympiacos.
Shkodran Mustafi (CB): Arsenal released the Levante ace in 2021 to join Schalke
Arteta continued his clear-out at Arsenal in January 2021 after releasing Shkodran Mustafi alongside Sokratis. The Gunners tore up the remainder of the German’s contract for him to join Schalke. Yet the centre-back only spent the following six months at the Veltins-Arena.
Schalke also endured relegation to 2.Bundesliga during Mustafi’s time at the Gelsenkirchen outfit. Levante eventually offered the defender a return from free agency later in 2021. Yet the Spanish side then endured relegation to La Liga 2 during his first season with Granotes.
Ainsley Maitland-Niles (LB): Emery started the Southampton loanee out of position
Ainsley Maitland-Niles is blessed with an ability to play in multiple positions outside of his natural central midfield role. Emery utilised the 25-year-old’s skill as a left-back during his first game in charge at Arsenal. The Hale Ender would mostly feature on the right, though.
The five-cap England international is getting a chance to feature centrally this season after joining Southampton on loan. Arteta allowed Maitland-Niles to go to St Mary’s for a year in September after he agreed to extend his contract set to end in 2023 by another 12 months.
Granit Xhaka (CDM): Emery named the Swiss star as Arsenal’s captain in 2019
New Aston Villa manager Emery started Granit Xhaka in his first game in charge of Arsenal in 2018. The Spaniard would later name the Swiss midfielder as his captain one year later. But Emery stripped Xhaka of the role just two months later after clashing with supporters.
Matteo Guendouzi (CDM): Arsenal sold Emery’s signing to Marseille in July
Matteo Guendouzi joined Arsenal from Lorient under Emery in July 2018 for £7m after an impressive Ligue 2 term. Yet the midfielder returned to his native France permanently this July after Marseille paid £9m – including a loan fee – to make his year-long move full-time.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan (RM): Arsenal terminated the Inter Milan star’s contract in 2020
Henrikh Mkhitaryan joined Arsenal in January 2018 in a swoop that saw Alexis Sanchez join Manchester United. Yet the Gunners agreed to mutually terminate the Armenian’s contract in September 2020. He then joined Roma before switching to Inter Milan for free this July.
Aaron Ramsey (CAM): Wales star is now at Nice after his failed Juventus spell
Juventus signed Aaron Ramsey to a £400k-a-week contract in 2019 after Arsenal chose not to extend his terms. BBC Sport reported at the time that Emery had reservations about the Wales star’s role. The midfielder wished to play higher up the field than the coach wanted.
Ramsey would endure a frustrating three years in Serie A after injuries regularly ruined his chances to build form. A disappointing loan with Rangers earlier this year then led to a free transfer to OGC Nice in August. Juventus agreed to terminate his terms by mutual consent.
Mesut Ozil (LM): Arsenal paid the German to join Fenerbahce in 2021
Arsenal broke their transfer record to sign Mesut Ozil off Real Madrid in 2013 for £42.5m. Yet Arteta would end up sanctioning a deal that saw the Gunners pay the German to play for Fenerbahce in 2021. He had fallen out of favour at the Emirates under the Spaniard.
Reports by The Athletic at the time noted Arsenal continued paying 90% of Ozil’s £350k-a-week contract from January to June. The playmaker would go on to spend a further year at Fenerbahce. Yet he joined Istanbul Basaksehir this July after mutually terminating his deal.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (ST): Chelsea have signed the former Arsenal ace
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang joined Arsenal off Borussia Dortmund for a club-record £56m in January 2018 under Wenger. The Gabon striker went on to score 92 goals in 163 games for the Gunners, including 41 goals and eight assists through 67 appearances under Emery.
A loss of form in late 2021 then preceded Arteta taking Arsenal’s captaincy away from the 33-year-old following his ‘latest disciplinary breach’. Emery had awarded Aubameyang the armband after taking it off Xhaka two months before the Gunners would then hire Arteta.
Aubameyang’s fall from grace in north London continued this January as Arsenal paid him £7m to terminate a £350k-a-week contract, per The Times. Barcelona used that to secure his services for free, before selling the 73-cap attacker to Chelsea for £12m in September.
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