Joe Cole has claimed that former Arsenal boss Unai Emery was ‘the right manager at the wrong time’ for the club. The Spaniard, now in charge of Villarreal, replaced Arsene Wenger in May 2018 and spent 18 months in the Gunners’ hotseat.
The north London club finished fifth in his only full season in charge, missing out on fourth spot by a single point. The former Sevilla boss also guided Arsenal to the Europa League final, but they were humbled 4-1 by Chelsea in Baku.
Emery was sacked in December 2019 after a poor start to the following campaign. However, his stock has considerably risen after he won the Europa League with Villarreal last season; beating Manchester United on penalties.
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The 50-year-old carried on his impressive renaissance this season by guiding the La Liga side to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and Cole has suggested that Emery was dismissed before he had the chance to succeed at Arsenal. However, he did concede that the club are in a strong position under Mikel Arteta.
“Unai Emery was the right manager at the wrong time. Arsenal were in a state of self imposed disarray they were all over the place they had the post-Wenger years and they weren’t ready for someone to come in," he told BT Sport.
“Everything he did he was getting criticised for. I think they missed a trick with that one although they’re in a good position now with Arteta.”
Manchester United legend Rio Ferdinand echoed Cole’s sentiments describing Emery as ‘top level’.
He added: “This guy knows his way around European football. He’s done it in the Europa League numerous times for years and years, he’s won it numerous times at different clubs.
“Sometimes it just doesn’t fit between a manager and a certain football club but that doesn’t make him a bad manager. The history he’s got as a coach and what he’s doing with this team now and beating Man Utd in the final last season this guy is a top level manager.”
