Peter Crouch believes Unai Emery may have turned down a move to Newcastle as a result of trolling during his time as Arsenal manager. Emery's pronunciation of 'Good evening' became a meme across the internet, with people using it as a way to mock the former Gunners boss when results were not going his way.
The Villareal boss was the number one replacement for Steve Bruce when he departed St. James' Park earlier this year and was expected to make the move to Tyneside, but would eventually turn down the move. Speculation in Spain claimed Villareal and Emery were unhappy that the news was leaked to the English media, ultimately causing the move to collapse.
However, Crouch believes that some of the abuse Emery suffered during his stint in the Premier League may have also played a part. Writing in his column in the Daily Mail, Crouch said: "Here is a man making an effort in a foreign country. He's thinking, 'this will be polite, I'll say this', and ends up ridiculed.
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"I'm not going to say I didn't smile, but he was making a conscious effort to cultivate relationships with politeness. If I went to play in Spain and somebody told me that saying 'buenas noches' in a press conference might be a nice idea, I'd do it.
"The people who really slated him probably cannot speak a word of another language and here Emery was dealing with rubbish. He has worked for the biggest club in France, one of the biggest in England and enjoyed huge success in Spain — I'm sure he's doing something right.
"Newcastle United wanted him, remember. He turned that down and you wonder whether part of the decision came from some bad memories of managing in England.
"He did an unbelievable job at Sevilla and was strong at Paris Saint-Germain — unfairly sacked in my view — before 18 months in London. Arsenal was a disappointment and some of their supporters have told me they can't believe what he is achieving and how he is doing it with a solid defensive plan.
"It would be silly to write that it was going well at the Emirates or that Arsenal should have given him more time. They were falling way behind and Emery had a major part to play in that as he struggled massively. Now he has found himself again at Villarreal and those performances against Bayern were nothing short of incredible."
