Emery says it’s really tough to finish in top four as it’s the hardest in the world
UNAI EMERY seemed to be offering an early excuse should he fail to get Arsenal back in the Champions League this season.
Apparently, it is because the Premier League is “difficult.”
“Getting to the Champions League is our challenge,” he said. “We want to play in the Champions League but also we know we need to show patience because there are another five very strong teams with very good players with the same target.
“The Premier League is the most difficult championship in all the world. There is not another country where it is so hard to finish in the top four and play in the Champions League.
“Maybe in Spain they have something similar – Valencia are struggling for the top four also. But here the biggest teams in the world play in one championship.”
The message when Emery arrived last summer was simple: Arsenal need to get back into regular Champions League football to give their model of financial sustainability a chance to succeed.
But when asked whether the job he is doing should be considered a success or a failure depending on where Arsenal end up, he dodged the question. “We want to get this club to the point where we are the best club in England and the world,” he said. “But it is a long process. We need to talk about patience.”
With his Spanish accent still heavy after almost a year in England, the final word sounded like “passions” – something that seemed missing from Arsenal’s 3-1 midweek defeat at Wolves. It puts extra pressure on tomorrow’s trip to Leicester – but Arsenal are hoping to have back PierreEmerick Aubameyang after the decision to leave him out of the trip to Molineux backfired.
Emery revealed that club doctors had told the striker (left) a sinus operation could not wait until the end of the season.
“We decided two weeks ago to do it before Wednesday’s game,” he said. “Otherwise it would have had to be for this game on Sunday. It was not possible for him to miss the matches next week against Valencia or Brighton. We also decided not to do it against Crystal Palace or Napoli. But the doctor said to do
it as quickly as possible because he needed it done. We decided this match was the best.”
Aubameyang trained yesterday and Emery will assess him today to see if he is in contention to start tomorrow’s game. “He trained today and if he can train tomorrow, I think he will ready for Sunday,” Emery said. “If he can train normally tomorrow, starting is even a possibility.”
A member of Arsenal’s backroom staff has been charged with improper conduct following a tunnel bust-up during Sunday’s defeat by Palace. Ameesh Manek, operations manager, is accused of using foul language at half-time. He has until Tuesday to respond.