Emery fired by Arsenal

There’s another managerial vacancy at a north London club in the English Premier League, this time at Arsenal.

Unai Emery was fired yesterday after 18 months as the successor to long-time coach Arsene Wenger, with Arsenal on their worst run of results in 27 years. The Spaniard arrived at training the morning after a 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League and was told by the club’s top officials that he’d lost his job.

Arsenal are without a victory in seven straight matches in all competitions and have dropped to eighth place in the Premier League, already eight points off the fourth and final Champions League qualification position after just 13 games. It’s the club’s longest winless run since 1992.

“The decision has been taken due to results and performances not being at the level required,” Arsenal said in a statement.

Assistant coach Freddie Ljungberg was taking interim control.

Only 10 days ago, Tottenham – Arsenal’s fierce rivals in north London – fired their coach Mauricio Pochettino and quickly replaced him with José Mourinho, who has won his first two games in charge.

SEARCH FOR NEW MANAGER

Arsenal will be hoping for a similar bounce under Ljungberg as the board searches for a permanent manager, with Wolverhampton’s Nuno Espírito Santo heavily linked with the vacancy, along with former Arsenal midfielder Mikel Arteta, an assistant coach to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Former Juventus and AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri, who is out of work, is another option. He has, however, reportedly already turned down the opportunity.

Emery’s position appeared untenable after the loss to Eintracht in front of a sparse and disgruntled crowd at Emirates Stadium, with some fans holding up signs calling for the manager to leave.

It proved to be a shambolic end to his tenure, with concerns over his ability to communicate with players – reports say he was openly mocked by the squad and some club employees because of his broken English – and more important, his tactics.

NO DISCERNIBLE STYLE

Arsenal had a distinctive, easy-on-the-eye approach under Wenger, which was cultivated over the Frenchman’s remarkable 22-year stint, but Emery’s team had no discernible style even though he stated his intention to adopt a high-energy, pressing game upon his arrival in the offseason of 2018.

Crucially, he never managed to shore up Arsenal’s defence – wobbly in the final years of Wenger’s reign – and didn’t seem to know how to handle playmaker Mesut Ozil, the team’s highest-paid player who was repeatedly dropped but curiously recalled in Emery’s final games.

Emery removed the captaincy from Granit Xhaka this month after the midfielder swore at fans while being substituted during the October 27 draw against Crystal Palace in the league. Xhaka later said he and his family had been subjected to abuse and threats on social media.

Emery arrived at Arsenal after leaving Paris Saint-Germain, where he won the French title but couldn’t deliver the European success the Qatari-owned club craves. Before that, he won three Europa League titles with Sevilla.

“However long I oversee [at]Arsenal for, I will give everything I have to put smiles on faces again,” Ljungberg wrote on Twitter, perhaps alluding to the current mood around the club’s London Colney training ground.