Published 10:12 IST, November 30th 2019
Former Arsenal Head coach Emery pens emotional letter to club after getting sacked
Former Arsenal Head coach Unai Emery penned a thank you letter to the club, staff and the fans after being sacked from the club earlier on Thursday morning.
Former Arsenal head coach Unai Emery has reportedly penned a letter of thanks to the club, the fans, and the staff. Emery was sacked after a run of poor performances which has seen the club not register a win for seven consecutive matches. Former player and current assistant coach, Freddie Ljungberg has taken over duties as the interim head coach.
"An honour to be the Arsenal Head coach"
The letter, released via the club, read, "It has been an honour to be the Arsenal head coach. To all the fans, I want to thank you all from the bottom of my heart for helping me to understand and feel the greatness of Arsenal. To all of you who have supported us from every corner of the globe, all of you who have come to the Emirates, all of you who have waited in the rain and cold just to greet me after a game. I want to tell all of you that I have worked with passion, with commitment and effort. I would have liked nothing more than to have achieved better results for you.
I also want to send a message of gratitude to all Arsenal employees for the way they have treated me. The greatness of Arsenal is in every director, executive, employee, assistant and volunteer. In particular, I want to highlight Ivan Gazidis, who welcomed me to the club, and Raul Sanllehi, Edu and Vinai Venkatesham for their respect, companionship and help. Until the very last minute, I have been treated with honour and honesty. And of course, I send my sincere gratitude to the Kroenke family, for their trust.
It has been a year and a half full of emotions, of great moments and some other more bitter ones, but not a single day has gone by without me stopping to think about how lucky I have been to work for this club with these players and their professional and personal qualities. They have always honoured the shirt they wear. They deserve your support. I had already experienced a lot in football, but I have enjoyed and learned a lot in England, in the Premier League, about respect for professionals and about the purity of football.
My best wishes always. COYG"
Emery joined the club in May 2018, taking over from Arsene Wenger and in the 18 months helped the club reach the finals of the UEFA Europa League, which the team lost. His second season at the club did not start well at all, with club captain Laurent Koscienly departing the club after a rift and a massive delay to appoint a new captain. The new captain, Granit Xhaka, went on to have a massive issue with the fans during a match when he was booed off the pitch and as that was happening, he mouthed an expletive towards the fans. Xhaka did not play for a month and made his appearance against Eintracht Frankfurt. Arsenal lost the match, in front of a half-empty stadium and the loss turned out to be the final nail in the coffin for Emery.
Updated 12:29 IST, November 30th 2019