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Ainsley Maitland-Niles claims there’s a manager who Arsenal shouldn’t have sacked
Ainsley Maitland-Niles has admitted that he didn’t think Arsenal should have sacked Unai Emery when they did.
with The Athletic, Maitland-Niles was speaking about his former boss.
Unai Emery was handed the near-impossible task of following Arsene Wenger at Arsenal.
As seen at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson retired, succeeding after a manager has been in charge for so long is virtually impossible.
Emery was hired in July 2018, and lasted just over a year before being sacked following their worst run of results in decades.
He went seven games without a win, and ironically lost his job following a defeat in the Europa League – a competition he tends to thrive in.
Although Maitland-Niles made his debut under Wenger at Arsenal, Emery provided him with further opportunities.
He scored his first senior goals for the club under the Spaniard, and was a regular in his side.
Once he was gone, Maitland-Niles continued to fight for his place under Mikel Arteta, but didn’t enjoy the same loyalty.
Maitland-Niles claims Emery deserved more time at Arsenal
Asked about the 51-year-old manager, : “When Unai came in he was very energetic — similar to Mikel — and very enthusiastic in how he wanted us to play.
“I would have liked to have played more under him, but I was important in some big games. He was a great manager.
“The club should have given him a little bit more time.”
Unai Emery is now proving how good a manager he really is at Aston Villa.
He’s taken the Villains from the bottom third of the table into European contention this season.
The experience Emery gathered at Arsenal while in the Premier League may be helping him now, although Maitland-Niles is adamant he deserved patience.
The 25-year-old has admitted his time at The Emirates will be coming to an end this season.
His loan spell at Southampton has offered him minutes, but can’t be classed as a massive success.
The Saints are currently bottom of the league and in real danger of being relegated.
Given how little support from the fans Emery had towards the end of his Arsenal tenure, they likely sacked him at the right time.
The longer he had been in charge, the harder it may have become to turn it around.
Emery may take solace in the fact that some of his Arsenal players, like Maitland-Niles, thought he deserved better.