Arsenal: 10 things we learned about Unai Emery in his first year

Arsenal have one year with Unai Emery in the books, and while some may call it a mixed bag, I’d call it a success. Here are ten things we learned about our new manager this year.

Arsenal finally bid farewell to Arsene Wenger after 22 years at the club, and from the moment that it was announced that he was leaving, everyone knew that whoever came next had one hell of a task on their hands, and Unai Emery has vindicated that.

Manchester United should have provided a clear example of how hard it is to follow up someone like Wenger, with a peerless legacy and a history of success. But it was also a matter of undoing all the problems that Wenger had left at the club as well, which required a healthy amount of diligence out of whoever that new man was going to be.

Unai Emery wasn’t a front-runner from the start, and many didn’t like the idea even in the dull chatter that circulated it, but in the end, he was the man for the job, and in one year with the club, we have learned a great deal about him, thanks in part to what was a very dramatic season, full of mixed results.

From a 22-match win streak, to getting destroyed 4-1 in the Europa League final, to the Mesut Ozil drama, there’s a lot we learned. Of course, some of this we should have known from the carry-over of his previous managing jobs, but regardless, here are ten things we now know for sure about our new manager.

10. He’s passionate!

There was a lot of criticism of Arsene Wenger, particularly in his latter years, that he didn’t seem to care very much when his team was imploding. He would sit on the bench, occasionally fumble with his zipper, rarely spike a water bottle, and that was that.

Unai Emery is much different. This man celebrates harder than any fan and he doesn’t have to film himself and post it on Twitter to get attention. He is balls deep in this team and takes every success and failure personally.

At No. 9, such a welcome surprise.