Unai Emery's latest comments on Tottenham Hotspur are sure to make for welcome reading from an Arsenal perspective as the Spaniard mentioned Spurs' lengthy trophy drought.
Emery struggled to endear himself fully to the Gunners faithful during his time at the Emirates as manager and oversaw an infamous capitulation that saw Arsenal fail to qualify for the Champions League during his only full season at the helm.
However, he'll have pleased fans of the club this week after his verdict on a club that were once his rivals in Tottenham.
Now in charge of La Liga outfit Villarreal, Emery is enjoying a far better period in Spain and has taken the 'Yellow Submarine' to the last eight of the Champions League. He has also won more silverware than he did at Arsenal, after lifting the Europa League with Villarreal last year following a dramatic penalty shoot-out against Manchester United in the final.
Emery boasts four former Spurs players within his ranks in the form of Etienne Capoue, Juan Foyth, Serge Aurier and Giovani Lo Celso (on loan) and highlighted the advantage that quartet now boast playing for Villarreal.
"Tottenham is also a very big club, but here they (those players) could win things," he told The Athletic. "Tottenham has been years without winning anything, no trophies."
The Spaniard is not wrong, with Spurs now going 14 years and counting since they last lifted some meaningful silverware which was the 2008 League Cup. The current campaign is also set to end with nothing to show for it outside of potential Champions League qualification as they jostle with Arsenal for fourth spot.
Emery went on to explain how Villarreal can be an attractive proposition to players of Premier League quality who want to win silverware but would struggle in England. Quick to ensure he wasn't singling out just Spurs, he added: "There are other very good teams in England who do not win things either. It is not easy to win.
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" Liverpool and Manchester City are winning at the moment, recently it was Manchester United and Chelsea too. Teams like West Ham are very good, but they have hardly any chance of winning anything." While they are also set to end the season trophy-less, Emery's former side Arsenal have lifted silverware since he departed.
His successor Mikel Arteta won the 2020 FA Cup just over eight months into his respective reign. Emery has already faced off with Arsenal since his Emirates exit, knocking the Gunners out of last season's Europa League at the semi-final stage.
