EMERY: MIND YOUR LANGUAGE
Gunners boss insists on English in dressing room despite struggling himself
UNAI EMERY is insisting English is spoken in the Arsenal dressing room – even though he is struggling with the language himself.
The Spaniard is refusing to use an interpreter to help him communicate after setting himself an ambitious target of being fluent in English by Christmas.
The Gunners boss does have an interpreter at press conferences, if he gets stuck, but wants to speak English to the media out of respect and determination to learn quickly.
He also has a fulltime English teacher with him at Arsenal’s training ground, as he looks to pick up the lingo as fast as possible.
He will talk to players in their own language during one-onone conversations, but believes it is important to speak in the language of the country where he is working, and fears using an interpreter will slow down his progress. The former Sevilla boss, who has won the Europa League three times, is also determined the Gunners will take Europe seriously this season. Emery (above), who begins the Europa League campaign against Vorskla next Thursday, hinted he will field a full-strength team both at Newcastle today and in Europe. He said: “If teams cannot play in the Champions League, the Europa League is very important.
“I have proven with my experience to know the best way to manage the players.
“My idea isn’t to change 11 players between one competition and the next. Each match is giving us information for how we can play.
“I want to win Saturday and on Thursday. We are looking forward to every match.”