Kieran Tierney claimed that Unai Emery’s poor performance as coach at Emirates Stadium was because of Arsenal players. Emery is now performing well as coach of Aston Villa in the Premier League. He had both good and bad moments at Arsenal, but he only coached for 18 months before Mikel Arteta took over.
Kieran Tierney on Unai Emery
Emery didn’t make it to the top four in his only full season with Arsenal. He also lost in the Europa League final. In his second season, he was having trouble keeping up with the top teams. Tierney, who Emery signed, thinks the players didn’t play well enough to show his efforts on the field.
“I loved working with Unai Emery. Unfortunately, us players never got the results he deserved. I don’t think it’s on him. He worked so hard, every single day he gave us everything, and ultimately we never got the results. Why not? If I knew that, I would have a job higher up in football. Often in football, things don’t go to plan. It was sad, but you see what he went on to do in Spain and now with Aston Villa,” Tierney said to Irish Examiner.
🗣️Kieran Tierney: "I loved working with Unai Emery at #Arsenal. Unfortunately, us players never got the results he deserved. I don’t think it’s on him. He worked so hard, every single day he gave us everything, and ultimately we never got the results.
"If I knew why we didn't… pic.twitter.com/cByGDe0j97
— Arsenal News Channel (@Arsenalnewschan) February 17, 2024
Emery won trophies with Sevilla and PSG before coming to Arsenal. He showed his skills again at Villarreal by winning the Europa League, beating Manchester United. He also took them to the semi-finals of the Champions League in the 2021/22 season. Now, at Villa, he led them to Europe last season.
“It was a very good challenge but when I finished after one year and six months, in November [2019] I was really frustrated. The first year was good, the second year started a bit so-so and then it was over. Arsenal was difficult to arrive at after Wenger. What was needed was a process. The supporters respected me a lot and I was frustrated because I was thinking, ‘I can do it, but I need time’. But I understand always football. I understand always my position as a coach. You have to win. You convince by winning,” Emery said about leaving Arsenal.
