The serial Europa League winner spent 18 months at the Emirates Stadium between 2018 and 2019, and managed mixed results.
Under Emery’s guide, Arsenal finished within a whisker of the top four and reached the Europa League final before losing to Chelsea.
He was ultimately sacked with Arsenal in eighth place, something Mikel Arteta did not manage to improve on in his first season and a half in charge.
Arteta has since improved the Gunners, but his win percentage remains below that of Emery’s by around two percent.
Only Pat Rice, Joe Shaw and Arsene Wenger have managed better win percentages than Emery’s 55%, and Gunners fans were left pondering whether it was the right decision to sack him when he went on to win the Europa League with Villarreal last season, beating Arsenal on his way.
Since then, the positives under Arteta have overwhelmed any slice of regret or wonder, but some of Emery’s legacy lives on.
A number of the Spaniard’s signings remain at the Emirates Stadium today, and with that, let’s take a look at all of Emery’s captures from his time at Arsenal to gauge how he performed in the market during his time in north London.
He was ultimately sacked with Arsenal in eighth place, something Mikel Arteta did not manage to improve on in his first season and a half in charge.
5. Bernd Leno
Another good signing. Bernd Leno has fallen out of favour this season behind Aaron Ramsdale, but the German has 100 Premier League appearances and he was the club’s starting goalkeeper for three years. Leno has been a consistent keeper for Arsenal and at £22.5million, the Gunners have had a good return on this investment.
6. Sokratis Papastathopoulos
Sokratis joined Arsenal from Borussia Dortmund for around £17.6million and never really lived up to expectation. The Greek defender made 44 Premier League appearances in his first three years and left for Olympiacos last year. This won’t be remembered as a successful deal.
7. David Luiz
For a mere £8million, Luiz has to go down as a successful signing for Arsenal. He served his purpose in adding experience to the back-line, and while he was typically clumsy at times, he was a regular, making 53 Premier League appearances in two years. The Brazilian helped the Gunners win an FA Cup and to reach the Europa League semi-finals ahead of leaving for Flamengo last year. For the price, Luiz was a smart signing.
8. Matteo Guendouzi
Signed for a reported £7million, Matteo Guendouzi arrived with the hope of being a big future talent.
And he made an impression, making 57 Premier League appearances in his first couple of years, becoming a regular around 20 years of age. Guendouzi looked as though he would be a big part of Arsenal’s future, but it all fell apart when he fell out with Arteta over a poor challenge at Brighton during lockdown. He was sent out on loan to Hertha Berlin last season and he is now with Marseille. His Arsenal future doesn’t look great.
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