Unai Emery has launched a passionate defence of his time at Arsenal, insisting the club was on a “downward slope” when he arrived and accusing some players of not having the right attitude.
Emery was appointed by Arsenal back in the summer of 2018 after being chosen as the man to succeed Arsene Wenger.
The Spaniard enjoyed a decent first season in charge, finishing fifth in the Premier League and making the final of the Europa League.
Arsenal’s form, however, went down hill during Emery’s second season and he was sacked in November.
The Spaniard has now defended his time in north London, though, and questioned the attitudes of some of the players in the squad.
“Arsenal was a club on the downward slope for two years when I arrived,” Emery told France Football.
“We stopped this fall and even started to straighten the club with a Europa League final and a fifth place in the championship, only one point off of Tottenham despite the fact that we took just one point in our final five matches.
“We had the qualification for the Champions League in our hands and it went wrong at the end.
In Pictures | Kieran Tierney in Arsenal training | 10/02/20
“But it was a good season and we had the idea to continue this progression.
“But we lost four of our captains: [Laurent] Koscielny, [Petr] Cech, [Aaron] Ramsey and [Nacho] Monreal.
“We missed personalities this season to stay on track. And some stars did not have the right attitude and asked for more than they gave.
“Given all that, we needed time to succeed with our transition to a new Arsenal which is what I wanted.”
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