Now in his perfect job? How Unai Emery’s Arsenal & Villa managerial records compare

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Arsenal v Aston Villa Saturday 

©TM/IMAGO

It’s November 28, 2019. Arsenal have just lost 2-1 at home to Frankfurt in the Europa League. The club are on a seven-game winless run. A day later manager Unai Emery is relieved of his duties just 18 months after being appointed. A decision vindicated by most fans and pundits alike. Just five years later, Emery is now one of the most respected managers in the Premier League, after leading Aston Villa into the Champions League for the first time in 42 years. It took some time for the Spaniard to rebuild his reputation in England, but he has truly proved some doubters wrong. Only Pep Guardiola and Mikel Arteta have taken more Premier League points than Emery since he was appointed Villa boss in October 2022.

Emery’s Villa started the new season where they left off last campaign – they took 12 points from their first five Premier League games, and won each of their first three Champions League fixtures. Since then, while they remain in the Champions League league phase table, Villa have dropped slightly in the league, currently in seventh position. However, Emery is still a figure of adoration at Villa Park. He is probably the club’s most successful manager in the Premier League era. So why was there such a contrast in fortunes for Emery at Aston Villa and Arsenal? Adored by one, berated by the other. Is Villa perhaps the perfect job for a coach like Emery? And was following Arsène Wenger at the Emirates the impossible job? With Villa taking on Arsenal in the Premier League this Saturday, we take a look at how Emery’s record compares at both clubs.

When Emery replaced Steven Gerrard as Villa boss, just 11 games into the 2022/23 season, the club were 17th in the Premier League table. Relegation was a serious threat. Emery’s Villa went on to take 15 wins from their remaining 25 league games, registering a record of 1.96 points per game, and securing a seventh place finish and therefore European football. It was an incredible impact, but few could have foreseen him going one better and leading Villa to fourth place in his first full season in charge. In his one full season at Arsenal, the club finished fifth in the Premier League, after collapsing in the top-four race, as well as losing the Europa League final 4-1 to rivals Chelsea. But what do the stats tell us about the differences and similarities between the Spaniard’s two reigns in England?

As illustrated in the graphic above, Emery has now managed more Villa games than he did at Arsenal, after being relieved of his duties in north London after just 78 games in charge of the Gunners. He has now been in charge for 113 at Villa. Despite being largely perceived as an overriding success at Villa Park and somewhat of a failure at the Emirates, Emery actually boasted a higher average points per game record at Arsenal (1.85ppg) than he has so far at Villa (1.79ppg). However, a lot of that is due to his strong cup runs as Arsenal boss and his more disappointing cup record in charge of the Villains.

In the Premier League alone, Emery has a 1.81ppg average compared to just 1.73ppg at Arsenal. When you consider what the expectations would have been when he walked through the door at both clubs, it really highlights the difference between the job he has done at Villa compared to what he did at Arsenal. As can be identified in the graphic, Emery has spent €343 million on new arrivals at Villa compared to €233m at Arsenal. However, much of that spending has come this summer, after the club already achieved the success of making it back into the Champions League. So why has Emery been able to get so much more out of this group of Aston Villa players than he could from his squad at Arsenal?

There were a number of mitigating factors that may have led to Emery’s demise at Arsenal. Whilst he was probably the wrong man at the wrong time for what Arsenal needed, it was a time of turmoil at the club. That made Emery’s job extremely difficult. Following the club’s best ever manager in Wenger, who had been there for 18 years, was always going to be a tough task in itself. As also proved by Manchester United’s struggles after the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson, following a legendary manager can be a poisoned chalice. But so far not for Arne Slot at Liverpool.

Recruitment was also a big issue during Emery’s tenure at Arsenal. As highlighted above, from all the permanent signings during his time at the club, only really William Saliba and Gabriel Martinelli have turned out to be successes – both of whom played very little under Emery (Saliba was sent on loan and Martinelli was mainly restricted to cup competitions as a teenager). However, that poor recruitment should not all be pinned on Emery. The club was a mess from top to bottom at the time, and it should be noted, that Emery himself had actually been widely rumoured to have preferred to have signed Wilfried Zaha than Nicolas Pépé. The inadequate transfers reflect another reason why it was such a tough job for the Spaniard. Arsenal needed a massive rebuild. A young manager who was going to tear things up – which Arteta has done – was perhaps more suitable.

In stark contrast, at Aston Villa, the recruitment has had a far higher hit-rate since Emery has been in charge, and it has also been a lot more controlled. Centre-back Pau Torres was superb in his opening season, whilst Morgan Rogers was something of a revelation after being signed in January from Championship side Middlesbrough for just €9.4m. Emery also inherited a far younger, less-damaged squad, and has done an admirable job getting the best out of a group of players who struggled to click under Gerrard. 

You could also raise the argument that the job at Villa is just perfectly suited to Emery. He has proven he has thrived at clubs who are slight underdogs and expected to finish around the European places at best. At Sevilla, Villarreal and now Aston Villa he has done a superb job. At clubs such as PSG and Arsenal, where the expectations are often higher (sometimes unjustifiably so) he has slightly struggled. Emery is extremely tactical astute, and on his day, can get the better of any manager. However, his methods often obtain plenty of risk, and maybe fail to possess the control needed to challenge for a league title in the modern game.

Villa were beaten 5-0 by Crystal Palace and 5-1 by Newcastle last season in an example of how things can go wrong under Emery. They conceded 61 Premier League goals last term – over double that of Arsenal’s 29. The Spaniard did do the double over Arteta’s team last season, which ultimately led to them being unable to win their first title in 20 years. Emery will be hoping to get another one over on his old team once again this Saturday at the Emirates. At Villa Park he has found the perfect home.