Emery Will Be New Arsenal Manager, Wright Warns Him About Budgets Restrictions

Arsenal are set to announce Unai Emery as the new manager after it looked almost certain that Mikel Arteta was leading the charge to replace Arsene Wenger.

The sudden U-turn comes after the north London club held talks with the Spanish coach, who is also currently unemployed after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.

According to BBC Sport, Emery is said to have been the unanimous choice after Arsenal’s hierarchy went through a thorough process of choosing the next Gunners manager. They are also said to have held extensive talks with Arteta, but went with the more experienced Spaniard.

Emery is far more experienced than Arteta, whose only stint in management has been his two seasons as assistant to Pep Guardiola at Manchester City. The former Sevilla manager on the other hand is coming off of a treble win in France.

Apart from the Ligue 1 title this past season and four domestic cups in his two seasons as the manager of PSG, he also guided Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League titles between 2014 and 2016. Prior to that, he was the manager of Valencia and guided them to three straight third place finishes in the La Liga behind Real Madrid and Barcelona.

Arsenal are expected to make a formal announcement and hold a press conference later this week. It was clear the north London club are changing the management structure following the departure of Wenger.

The Premier League side have made a number of backroom appointments in the last 12 months with Sven Mislintat arriving as the head of recruitment and Raul Sanllehi as the head of football relations. And along with CEO Ivan Gazidis, the trio are leading the charge of picking the new head coach, who will join the new structure, and oversee only the matters on the pitch with transfers and contracts expected to be handled mainly by Mislintat and Sanllehi.

According to Sky Sports, however, the move for Emery was said to have been made after Arteta pulled out of the running to be Arsenal’s next manager. The Spaniard is said to have demanded to have a major role in deciding the transfer policy, while also having a say in which players will be offloaded to raise funds for a summer rebuild of the squad.

Arteta will not remain Guardiola’s assistant for the upcoming campaign after Arsenal failed to give in to his demands as they look at a new structure of management in north London. Emery’s potential appointment has been received positively by former players of Arsenal and other clubs.

Former Manchester United defender Gary Neville branded Emery a "brilliant coach" and believes it is a good appointment for Arsenal. Former Gunners striker Ian Wright also welcomed the Spanish coach’s potential arrival, but warned him he will have to get used to working with a limited budget.

Emery had unlimited funds during his time with PSG, which saw them sign Neymar for over $200m, but he is expected to have around £50m ($67m) when he takes over at Arsenal this summer. Wright feels he will have to use his coaching skills to develop the players already at the club and bring them back up to speed.

“Emery has had loads of money to spend at Paris Saint-Germain,” Wright said on 5 Live, as quoted by the Express. “Now he has to come to Arsenal with £50m with a bunch of players who have been playing in second gear.”

“His coaching ability will have to get going instantly and he will have to find some gems instantly,” the former Arsenal striker added.