Speaking on the Sky Sports Football Podcast, Alan Smith has been discussing Unai Emery as the Spaniard gears up to face his old team, Arsenal, on Saturday afternoon.
As many will remember, Emery was the man who replaced Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, but, sadly, things didn’t quite go to play for the Spaniard at the Emirates.
Within 18 months he was sacked, and it’s fair to say that this was a failed experiment at Arsenal.
However, despite his failings with the Gunners, Smith does believe that Emery is a top-class operator, stating that he’s a very talented coach.
Smith hails Emery
Smith spoke highly of Emery.
“It’s funny isn’t it because there are perceptions of managers and as you say he’s lost his last two, but there’s still a feelgood factor there with Unai Emery. People can see what he’s trying to do and that he’s a really good coach. It was obviously the wrong fit at Arsenal, the wrong place at the wrong time, but what he did when he went back to Spain speaks for itself. He’s obviously a very talented coach,” Smith said.
Poisoned chalice
To be honest, any manager who took charge of Arsenal after the Wenger-era would’ve struggled to make much of a mark at the Emirates.
Wenger was a bona fide legend in north London, and sadly, he left behind a squad that was in disrepair at that moment in time.
Emery did all he could to get that team firing, but the playing squad just wasn’t up to scratch at that point.
Even Mikel Arteta struggled upon his appointment with the Gunners, but now, he’s on his way to taking the north London club back to glory.
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