The former Gunners boss did not seem to like his successor’s comments.
Emery was sacked by the Gunners back in November after a terrible run of results which left Arsenal in the bottom half of the Premier League table.
Since his departure, the Spaniard has been vocal about his problems at Arsenal and recently had a dig at the state of the club during Arsene Wenger’s final few seasons as the manager.
He told France Football earlier this month: “Arsenal was a club on a downward slope for two years before I arrived. We stopped this fall and even began to rebuild the club with the Europa League final and fifth place in the league, only one point off Tottenham despite the fact that we took just one point in our final five matches.”
Wenger’s last few years at the club wasn’t as memorable as he would have liked but the most successful manager in Arsenal’s history didn’t seem to like Emery’s comments about the club being in decline.
He said: “In 2017 we made 75 points and won the FA Cup so you cannot say that [Arsenal were in decline] and the year before [2016] we finished second in the league. 2018 was my last year but it is very difficult to come out on that.”
“Arsenal is a club that is in a very strong position financially. It has good players, after that when you are a manager you have to stand up for what you do and your result and not look around you. That is the only thing you can do,” he said.
Emery’s comments about his shortcomings at Arsenal could possibly be an attempt to control the damage on his profile ahead of potential job offers in the summer.
The Gunners, now under Arteta, have improved as a squad but the performances have to translate into consistent wins in the league.
Arteta guiding Arsenal from their disastrous start to the season back into the top five would be a hugely impressive achievement and it will be interesting to see if Emery will have something to say about his former club then.
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