Better than Ole, Arteta and Rodgers – Newcastle smart not to sleep on Emery

Robin Bairner

• 1 Nov 2021 13:02 CDT
• 4 min read

Villarreal head coach Unai Emery might not a manager well remembered at Arsenal, but he could soon be making a return to the Premier League with Newcastle.

According to reports in his native Spain, Emery has been installed as the favourite to take over at St James’ Park, where the dugout remains vacant following Steve Bruce’s sacking.

He may not be the most glamorous name and his record may not be up there with the likes of Pep Guardiola, Thomas Tuchel and Jurgen Klopp, but he is a coach who merits more respect. Indeed, his statistics are better than many of his contemporaries in big jobs: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Mikel Arteta to name but two.

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Emery at Arsenal

In England, it is Emery’s spell at Arsenal upon which he is judged. He was in charge at the Emirates for just over a single season, taking command in the summer of 2018 and leaving the following November after a poor run of form.

Emery did indeed preside over a difficult at Arsenal, but since he departed, their decline has accelerated dramatically.

Indeed, there is an argument that he was handed an impossible task when he took over from Arsene Wenger, the man who had overseen the greatest era in the club’s history and had spent more than two decades at the helm.

Wenger was not bulletproof in the role as Arsenal boss, but his long history with the club meant that he commanded a certain reverence that afforded him greater protection from criticism.

When he departed, it became open season on the manager.

Emery was the first to fill the void and in picking up 70 points and finishing fifth in his first season in charge actually offered an improvement on his predecessor’s prior campaign.

Certainly, the start of his second campaign was not smart, with the Gunners eighth in November when he was sacked, but replacement Mikel Arteta has been unable to improve upon that since.

Emery’s Premier League record

If Emery’s demise was quick, take his overall record into account and he posts an average of 1.71 points per game (ppg) in the Premier League. That compares favourably to Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, who in his top-flight career boast a ppg of 1.67, and Arteta, who has 1.63.

To further put his efforts into context, Brendan Rodgers offers a useful point of comparison. The Northern Irishman is widely considered to have done an outstanding job with Leicester, yet his ppg stands at only 1.66.

To outperform this trio, Emery must have been doing something right.

What certainly cannot be questioned are Emery’s credentials on the continent. He was wildly successful with Sevilla, notably winning the Europa League in three successive seasons, while at Paris Saint-Germain he had a win percentage of 76.3.

Last season, meanwhile, he led Villarreal to the Europa League with a shock victory over Manchester United in the final.

Emery may not be recognised as one of the giants of European coaching, but his record stands up well to scrutiny and there is ample evidence to suggest that he would be a wise choice for Newcastle as they seek to work their way to the top.