Who is Unai Emery?

Arsenal have a new manager for just the second time since 1996 and the man tasked with overturning their fortunes and into a new era is Unai Emery.

Much like Arsene Wenger when he was appointed manager back in 1996, Emery is an unknown quantity in the Premier League, however he comes with some pedigree and looks the perfect long-term replacement for Wenger.

The appointment might come as a bit of a surprise after the club seemed to have decided that Mikel Arteta was the man to take over. However, it seems the board have come to their senses and realized that the former Arsenal player simply doesn’t have the experience at this level.

Does Emery have that experience is most likely the question Arsenal fans have been asking themselves, after all he has got the nod ahead of Arsenal legends, Thierry Henry and Patrick Viera, neither without much top flight managerial experience I might add.

As a player Emery spent most of his career playing in the Spanish second tier. In 2005 and at the age of 33 he turned his hand to management with Lorca Deportivo. He then moved onto Almeria before Valencia came calling.

At the time Valencia was going through a financial crisis and with limited resources he managed to guide them into 6^th place and into the Europa League during his first season. He managed to improve on this during his second year by guiding his team to third place and a return to the Champions League.

Over the next two seasons Valencia finished in third place and most importantly kept Champions League football at the Mestalla Stadium. Despite the success, Emery decided to seek another challenge.

A brief spell with Spartak Moscow was followed by a three-year stint with Sevilla, a period of remarkable success that delivered three consecutive Europa League titles.

His achievements at the Andalusian club caught the attention of French giants PSG, who brought him in to replace Laurent Blanc on a three-year contract. With proven credentials in winning the Europa League, the expectations were for Emery to lift the French champions onto the elite level, with the Champions League title the main focus.

In his first season the team surrendered a 4-0 advantage when Barcelona beat them 6-1 in the second leg of the last 16, while at the same stage this season Real Madrid brushed PSG aside 5-2 over the two legs.

His first season also saw Monaco end their four-year dominance on the domestic front, although they bounced back this season winning a fifth league title in six years. Despite this Emery decided to part company with PSG with a year still left on his contract.

It appears Emery seems to fit better into the Arsenal structure, which has a head of recruitment and football operations, suggesting the new man in charge might not have too much of a say when it comes to players being brought in.

It is believed he has a studious approach to his job and is from the old school of hard work will achieve results. Perhaps this is exactly the sort of ethic the multimillion pound football stars at Arsenal need drilled into them.

Emery has worked wonders with clubs like Valencia and Sevilla, despite having to constantly sell his best players to balance the books, Raul Albiol to Real Madrid, David Silva to Manchester City and David Villa to Barcelona while at Valencia, and Alberto Moreno to Liverpool, Ivan Rakitic to Barcelona, Carlos Bacca to Milan and Aleix Vidal to Bacelona while at Sevilla.

Must have been a shock when he moved to PSG and seeing the owners spend close to £500m in the two years, Neymar and Mbappe responsible for £360m of that spend!

Emery is just 46-years-of-age so a long-term focus at the Emirates shouldn’t be a problem, although what is a slight concern is his that with Valencia, Sevilla and PSG, it was his decision to move. If this does happen then the trend suggests he will leave, but only after success has been achieved!

Emery exceeded expectations with a cash strapped Valencia, he more than exceeded expectations with Sevilla, and with PSG he won seven trophies in two years. Clearly this is a man that focuses very much on success and sets very high expectations for himself and his players.

Can’t be a bad thing!