Under New Management: Why Arsenal And Chelsea Could Shine This Season

Unai Emery

Arsenal are entering a new era. In fact for some of the club's younger fans, this is uncharted territory. Arsène Wenger was with the side from 1996 until May of this year, having finally announced his departure a month earlier. Everyone has their views on Wenger, but there can be no understating his achievements and influence on the Premier League, and Unai Emery has a major job on his hands in replacing "Le Professeur".

Many people have compared Emery's job of replacing Wenger with David Moyes' unenviable and doomed takeover of Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson left, but there are some key differences. Most importantly, Moyes was managing the champions, whereas Arsenal just finished sixth and haven't won the title for over a decade.

Emery has a big job on his hands but nobody is realistically expecting him to walk in and transform Arsenal into Premier League winners overnight, so he should be granted a little time to build his squad and instil his philosophy. The 46-year-old is known for pushing his players to the limit and getting the best from each man. That's exactly the sort of mentality Arsenal need, with the side so often accused of cracking under pressure and going missing when times get tough.

Emery isn't the flashiest managerial appointment Arsenal could have gone for, but he's a serial winner, having performed well above expectations with Sevilla in La Liga, taking the club to three successive Europa League trophies and a Copa del Rey final, and then winning all there was to win in France, despite missing out in the Ligue 1 title in his first season with PSG and struggling in the Champions League.

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