New coach Emery shouldn’t change much at Arsenal, Kanoute says
Former Sevilla striker thinks Unai’s class alone won’t guarantee him success post-Wenger
Arsenal have a top coach in Unai Emery but he shouldn’t change too much at the club if he wants success, according to Dubai-based former Sevilla striker Freddie Kanoute.
Kanoute left Sevilla before Emery joined in 2013, but the Malian striker previously played against Emery’s Valencia and continued to attend Sevilla training sessions while the Spaniard was still in charge. Both lifted back-to-back Europa League titles at the club, Kanoute twice as a player under Juande Ramos in 2006 and 2007, and Emery three successive times as a manager from 2014 to 2016.
Now, Emery follows former Tottenham player Kanoute to another of his old hunting grounds in North London but this time to Arsenal and not Spurs, where he will replace long-serving Arsene Wenger at the Emirates Stadium.
“Watching the news and listening to interviews cannot give you a good idea of what kind of coach someone is,” Kanoute told Gulf News on the sidelines of his Kafo Academy at Foremarke School in Al Barsha on Tuesday.
“But when you see them on the training field you can differentiate and see who is really into it, and I think Unai is really a top coach. “I’ve watched him in training and the way he was behaving and taking the session was really impressive.
“It’s always good to see the quality of the coach when he’s not with one of the top teams in Europe,” added the 40-yearold, who scored 89 goals in 209 appearances for Sevilla between 2005 and 2012 — before Emery reigned between 2013 and 2016.
Pep a genius
“Pep Guardiola is a genius, but people will always say he’s only ever done it with the best teams — that’s not what I’m saying — but Unai is different because he’s done it with Sevilla.
“In my time, we won the Europa League twice in a row that’s why I really respect the coach we had at that time Juande Ramos, because it’s never easy.
“Sevilla is a big club but not a top Champions League club, so making it year-in-year-out, now we’ve done it five times (in 11 years) with two different coaches, it’s a big achievement and tells you a lot about a coach.”
Despite Emery’s quality however, Kanoute said it doesn’t guarantee him success at Arsenal. “Now if you ask me do I think he’s going to have success at Arsenal, I hope so but it’s not as simple as that.
“He will need to work a lot and create the right environment. He will also have to see if his type of management, his coaching methodology, is going to fit in with the philosophy implemented for more than 22 years by the same coach.
“There are a lot of things that prevent me from saying if he’s going to have success or not.
“Arsene stayed so long and had such a big impact across the board from youth to first team. Of course, his hand is on that and his style is ingrained into Arsenal’s philosophy, so obviously if a new guy comes in after 20 years and takes over there’s a big task. It can be easier in some aspects, but it can be very challenging if he wants to change things.”
Tottenham manager Mauricio Pochettino’s new five-year deal will play a massive role in persuading Harry Kane to stay, according to Dubai-based former Spurs striker Freddie Kanoute.
Both manager and player were tipped to move this summer after the North London club again failed to turn their recent reawakening under Pochettino into silverware last season.
However, with the Argentine coach tying himself down until 2023 last Thursday, Kanoute thinks Kane, whose own contract expires in 2022, should also stay.
“If Pochettino stays it will play a big role in Kane’s decision,” Kanoute told Gulf News on the sidelines of his Kafo Academy at Foremarke School in Barsha on Tuesday.
“Tottenham are a big club with big potential and what they’ve failed to do the last couple of years could still be achieved next season if they keep their best players, and Kane is one of them.
Consistent scorer
“For the sake of his own career, it might be a good call to stay maybe one more year and see what happens, but he knows more than me about the situation in the club and if it’s good to stay or go.”
Since Pochettino took over in 2014, the club have twice finished third in the Premier League either side of a secondplace finish in 2016/17, finishing runners-up in the League Cup once, reaching the FA Cup semis twice, and the Champions League Last 16 once. Within that time, Kane has consistently scored over 20 goals per season picking up back-to-back top scorers’ gongs in 2015/16 and 2016/17.
“Pochettino has played a big role in the improvement of the club over the last few years, so I think the primary objective is to keep him and for him to keep the club’s best players,” added Kanoute, who scored 15 goals in 60 appearances for Spurs between 2003 and 2005.
If Kane should leave however, Kanoute, who also played for Lyon, West Ham and Sevilla, backs the 24-year-old Englishman to succeed but warns it won’t be as straightforward.
“I think he has the quality to go for a big club and maybe go to the next step, the only thing is will he be able to adjust in one year or is he going to have a difficult year?
“This as well depends on many parameters, you don’t know under which coach he’ll play and the style he’s going to find there, and the cultural change as well if he’s going to change country. Not everybody has this ability to adjust quickly, if he is a good player he will adjust eventually, I’m just saying for next season I don’t know what decision will be best for him.”
Kanoute’s Kafo Academy ranges from ages five to 16-years-old, training fourtimes a week across Dubai, Sharjah and Ras Al Khaimah.