Ex-Arsenal Head of Football Raul Sanllehi has admitted Unai Emery's second season at the helm soon became "hell" after the Gunners had already missed out on Champions League football.
Emery guided the club to fifth-place in his first campaign, missing out on fourth spot to rivals Spurs by a single point. He did, however, forge himself a second chance to spare Arsenal's blushes by reaching the final of the Europa League where Emery's side met Premier League rivals Chelsea in Baku.
With a place in the Champions League up for grabs, the Gunners suffered one of the most miserable nights in their recent history and were thumped 4-1 by a rampant Blues side largely inspired by an in-form Eden Hazard in what was his final game for Chelsea.
Defeat for Arsenal ensured another season in European football's second-rate competition. Sanllehi has since discussed how much of a blow that was for the club while the Gunners were trying to restructure the way they operated.
Speaking to The Athletic, Sanllehi explained: “It was crucial for Arsenal to make the Champions League, we had a good coach in Unai, but losing the final to Chelsea made us stay in Europa League, which made the second year hell for Unai.
"It had been the one-boss model. All respect for Arsene [Wenger] — what he did for Arsenal is unique and probably at that moment in time the best way to do it — but you had to develop, and that is what happened."
In the aftermath of Wenger's departure, Arsenal seemed unprepared to try and implement the next stage of their story. Sanllehi's job was to discover the right structure, something he feels he had achieved until his own dismissal from the club.
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Sanllehi explained how he believed the age-old model of having one figure to oversee everything, effectively what Arsenal had under Wenger, does not work in modern football. Yet when he was axed in August 2020, the Gunners streamlined their structure and changed the job title of Emery's successor Mikel Arteta.
The current Arsenal boss went from first-team coach to first-team manager, something Sanllehi has made his feelings crystal clear about.
"They have betrayed the model a little bit now," he added. "By going back to the manager at the top, that is a mistake, but that is their mistake. I would have not allowed that to happen. But that’s fine, it is working so far for them."
Working for them appears to be an understatement, given Arsenal currently sit top of the Premier League and Arteta has just scooped the manager of the month award for winning every game in August.
