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A familiar face will stand in the way of Arsenal resurrecting their faltering rise to the title on Saturday.
When Aston Villa head coach Unai Emery embraces Mikel Arteta, the man who took up his job at the Emirates Stadium, he will do so knowing that he can plunge a dagger into the heart of his former club’s ambitions in a way not very different from how Arsenal do it. he did it on November 28, 2019.
Emery has bounced back from his dismissal as Gunners boss to rebuild a reputation as one of Europe’s shrewdest managers.
If the Spaniard can mastermind victory against his former team at Villa Park, there are no guarantees that Arsenal’s championship dream will be restored.
Since abruptly leaving north London following a 2-1 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League, a competition he subsequently won with Villarreal next season, Emery’s stock has risen.
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A familiar face stands in the way of Arsenal resurrecting their title at lunchtime on Saturday.
Emery can deal more damage to Arsenal and Arteta, who succeeded him as Gunners boss
Last year he led the Spanish team to a Champions League semi-final, ultimately losing to Liverpool.
But victories over Juventus and Bayern Munich en route to the final four were tantamount to redemption for Emery.
Had Newcastle had their way, they would have been Steve Bruce’s successor at St James’ Park long before Villarreal had claimed those illustrious scalps.
In truth, Emery liked Toon’s work. But he is a man of honor and he hated the fact that news of his possible arrival on Tyneside had leaked just hours before a Champions League clash against Young Boys.
The added complication of Newcastle wanting to include a release clause in his contract also didn’t go down well; But it was the shadowing of Villarreal’s build-up to the game in the wake of speculation about his future that really riled Emery.
That won’t come as a surprise to Arsenal, as much as he has lost the dressing room during the last weeks of his reign, he was always honest and dignified.
Newcastle are unlikely to regret the episode – they eventually turned to Eddie Howe and the rest is history.
However, the same cannot be said for Leeds. If the Elland Road team had made the decision to fire Jesse Marsch much sooner than they did, it’s understandable that Emery was among his preferred choices to become the new head coach.
Only Emery knows if he has happy memories of his 18 months at Arsenal but his departure came with shock and sadness in the squad.
The disappointing nature of the manager search in Leeds suggests they may have benefited from acting earlier.
Who knows if he would have accepted the challenge at Elland Road, although the fact that he continued to take English lessons after his sacking at Arsenal suggests he always knew he had unfinished business in England.
It remains to be seen what lessons Emery has learned from his ill-fated stint at Arsenal and how he can implement that to revive one of English football’s great institutions.
There were sections of the Arsenal team, and the backroom team, who found Emery irritating and uncharismatic.
Maybe that’s a little unfair; Arsene Wenger’s undeniable allure is a tough act to follow.
That said, Emery could have done more by trying to endear himself to those around him.
He was insular, largely disconnected from many with whom he shared a training ground on a daily basis.
He remained mainly within his inner circle of Juan Carlos Carcedo, Pablo Villanueva, and Víctor Manas.
That doesn’t do much for team spirit. The negativity filtered through the players, who by the end of his reign were texting each other predicting when Emery might finally leave.
When the going gets tough, players can often be the first to turn around; that seemed to be the case with Emery.
In the end, the coach did not have the answers. His tactics were being questioned, his training sessions left players uninspired and his detailed video analysis meetings left the team stumped.
When the Arsenal team was ushered into a morning meeting to be informed of Emery’s departure, there was little surprise.
There was certainly little sadness.
Saturday’s matchup will be Arsenal’s first as manager in the Premier League.
Does Emery have fond memories of his 18 months at Arsenal? Only he can really answer that, but you can’t blame him if it’s a chapter of his career that he’d rather not revisit.
So when he takes on Arsenal for the first time as Premier League manager on Saturday, it would be entirely understandable if there’s an extra steel in Emery’s eye; a little more purpose in his step.
He will say that he has nothing to prove; maybe he hasn’t.
But leading Villa to victory and damaging Arsenal’s title ambitions will definitely be on his agenda this afternoon.