Unai Emery sacked by Arsenal as club confirm interim appointment and explain decision

Arsenal have confirmed that Unai Emery has left the club with Freddie Ljungberg stepping in as interim head coach while the Gunners search for a long-term replacement.

The official statement comes after Arsenal’s defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League on Thursday night, which made it seven games without a win across all competitions.

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Having slipped down to eighth place in the Premier League table and eight points adrift of fourth spot as they continue to try and break back into the Champions League picture, results have gone against Emery as the decision was confirmed to sack him.

“Our most sincere thanks go to Unai and his colleagues who were unrelenting in their efforts to get the club back to competing at the level we all expect and demand. We wish Unai and his team nothing but future success,” Josh Kroenke noted in the club’s statement.

Further, they confirmed the reasoning behind their decision was that results and performances were ‘not at the level required’, while noting that the search for a long-term successor is already underway, as per the statement linked to above.

Time will tell who comes in, but it will be down to Ljungberg to prepare the senior side for their trip to Norwich City on Sunday as Arsenal need to turn their form around sooner rather than later.

Emery was appointed as Arsene Wenger’s successor in May 2018, and although there were positive signs along the way, he ultimately failed to secure a top-four finish last season which was coupled with their heavy defeat to Chelsea in the Europa League final.

With his struggles so far this season in mind too, Arsenal have decided that it’s the right time for a change and have brought an end to his tenure, and they’ll undoubtedly take their time and assess their options as the next decision on the new manager will be crucial to their progress in the coming years.