Former Arsenal manager Unai Emery has backed the appointment of Mikel Arteta as the club’s new head coach.
Arteta was announced as Arsenal’s new manager on Friday, replacing Emery who was sacked last month after an 18-month spell in charge ended with a seven-game winless run.
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Speaking in his first interview since leaving Arsenal, Emery told BBC Sport that appointing Arteta as his replacement was a good decision by the board.
“He really is prepared to make that next jump,” said Emery.
“He has been at Arsenal before, he’s been in the Premier League and he has been working with Pep Guardiola. I do believe this is a good decision and I would also like it to be a good decision.”
And on his time as Arsenal boss, Emery went on to disclose what really transpired.
“The truth is that in the first year I was very pleased and the only thing left for me to do was to put the rubber stamp on the season with a win in the final of the Europa League. In the knockout stages we looked powerful.
“And then we played in the final against Chelsea where we had a great first half in a tactical sense, and where, in my opinion, we could have taken control of the game. But Eden Hazard separated both sides in their favour and they won the match. And in the league we swam right up to the shore and died on the beach.
“We effectively lost a top-four finish at home in two games, a draw against Brighton and a loss to Crystal Palace. These happened at a time when we were heavily involved in the Europa League.”
Speaking further Emery said: “There were things that happened that impeded our chances of responding as well as we would have wanted, such as the injuries to Rob Holding, Hector Bellerin and Aaron Ramsey.
“But it’s true that I was very satisfied with how things went because I believe we learned how to become a team, at times a team that shone, but a team that was effective and competitive, and a team that in general was showing why Arsenal signed me. I believe we achieved that and we just needed to make that final step.
“This season, theoretically, we also began well and I had the feeling – and so did the club – that the achievements of the previous season were valued and we were now looking to how we could develop together, even to the point where they were looking to offer a renewed contract,” Emery added.
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