Unai Emery isn't 'better' than Mikel Arteta - but Arsenal boss' career achievements pale in comparison to Aston Villa's serial overachiever

Emery accepted the unenviable task of taking over from the legendary Arsene Wenger in 2018 and made an impressive start to his tenure. After back-to-back losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal embarked on a 22-match unbeaten run in all competitions, reinvigorating a fanbase that had become bitterly disillusioned during the closing stages of Wenger's reign. After a 5-1 rout of Fulham at Craven Cottage - the sixth of seven successive Premier League victories - the travelling support deliriously sang, "We've got our Arsenal back!"

By the middle of April, the resurgent Gunners, who had finished sixth the season before, were third in the table and closing in on a return to the Champions League, which was vital for the club from an economic and sporting perspective.

However, Arsenal then capitulated, losing three games in a row before being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Brighton. Emery's team did manage to finish their campaign with a victory, at Burnley, but by that stage, it was too late and thus suffered the abject misery of finishing a point behind hated north London rivals Tottenham, who qualified for the Champions League instead.

The Europa League final offered a shot at salvation, and Emery's status as a three-time winner of the competition meant that Arsenal fans travelled to Baku with real hope in their hearts. However, it quickly became clear that the Spaniard's side were spent, resulting in the Gunners slumping to a 4-1 loss to an Eden Hazard-inspired Chelsea.

In truth, Emery never really recovered from that twin setback. Had he been given a greater say in the club's recruitment, perhaps things could have been different.

However, amid a post-Wenger power struggle at the Emirates, there was a loss of confidence in Emery's judgement after he pushed for the loan signing of the painfully ineffective Denis Suarez during the 2019 January transfer window. Consequently, his plea to sign Wilfried Zaha the following summer fell on deaf ears and the club ended up throwing away £72 million ($94m) on Nicolas Pepe instead.

Still, while there's no denying that Emery was hindered by the upheaval behind the scenes, and wasn't afforded anything like the same support, resources or patience as his successor (it's significant that Emery was the 'head coach' while Arteta is the 'manager'), Arsenal were well within their rights to sack him in November 2019.

The team had gone seven games without a win in all competitions - the Gunners' worst run since 1992 - while they had amassed their lowest-ever points haul after 13 Premier League games (15).

There was also no evidence to suggest that Emery was capable of turning things around. Indeed, it appeared as if he had run out of ideas. He changed formations on an almost weekly basis and half-time substitutions became a regular occurrence.

The lack of clarity and consistency inevitably led to him losing the support of the dressing room. As GOAL reported immediately after Emery's exit, "London Colney will now be a far happier place that the decision to sack him has finally been taken. The respect had long gone; in fact, Emery had become the butt of many jokes.

"Talk of his potential dismissal had dominated discussion around Arsenal’s training centre during the past fortnight, with club staff just waiting to be told he was gone. The atmosphere had become so tense that many actually found it uncomfortable to be there."

So, while Emery may have given first-team debuts to the likes of Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Emile Smith Rowe, which pointed to a brighter future at Arsenal, Arteta's arrival felt like a breath of fresh air, which swept through the entire club and effectively propelled the same set of players to FA Cup glory just over six months later.

There's no overstating the significance of that Wembley win, either. It may have 'only' been the FA Cup, but it represented valuable credit in the back for Arteta. It convinced the club, which was now far more stable behind the scenes, that the former midfielder was not only worth backing, but also standing by when times got tough. The net result was Arteta being given time to construct - at great cost - a squad perfectly equipped to carry out his instructions to a tee.

The manager's methods, which range from lightbulbs to pickpockets, may be a little unorthodox at times and have provoked external ridicule, but it's nothing like the merciless mockery to which Emery was subjected over his supposedly poor grasp of the English language. Still, there were communication issues at Arsenal. Emery reportedly failed to build up any kind of rapport with the club's staff and, in particular, the players.

By contrast, it's abundantly obvious that Arteta is universally admired at the Emirates and quite clearly commands the respect of his squad. That sense of unity has been key to Arsenal's transformation into title challengers over the past three seasons and the only remaining question is whether Arteta can now turn them into champions.

In that context, Arteta has unquestionably done a better job at Arsenal than Emery; that's just not up for debate. He's also one of the most exciting young coaches in the game today. Were he to become available, there's no doubt that other top teams would be interested in his services.

However, can it really be argued that Arteta is a better manager than Emery? No, not yet. The work he's done at the Emirates is impressive, but it pales in comparison to Emery's achievements.

Even if one feels compelled to discount the merits of his Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain, we're talking about a coach that won three consecutive Europa League trophies with a sensational Sevilla side before lifting another with Villarreal, who actually defeated Arteta's Arsenal in the semis before upsetting Manchester United in the final. Emery also guided the Yellow Submarine past both Juventus and Bayern Munich and into the last four of the Champions League the following campaign.

Arteta hasn't yet come close to anything like that level of over-achievement with the resources at his disposal. Indeed, the job he's done at Arsenal doesn't even compare to Emery leading an Aston Villa side left in a complete mess by Steven Gerrard into the Champions League within 18 months.

Truth be told, it was ludicrous that he was beaten to the 2023-24 Premier League Manager of the Year award by Guardiola. The Manchester City boss obviously deserved recognition for winning yet another title, but their success came as zero surprise - Villa's fourth-placed finish was stunning in the circumstances.

Of course, none of this is to say that Arsenal would be better off today had they persisted with Emery. Arteta has done fantastically well putting the Gunners back among England's elite - and while playing wonderful football with a relatively young team crafted in his own image. Under Arteta, the fans really do feel as if they've got their Arsenal back.

At the same time, though, just because Arteta can't be considered superior simply because he is succeeding where Emery failed. For starters, he will ultimately be judged on whether he lands a major honour. He's been at Arsenal for nearly five years now and that FA Cup win remains his only piece of significant silverware. Let's not pretend that he won't find himself under enormous pressure come the end of the season if Arsenal finish as runners-up for the third consecutive season. The best bosses are judged by the highest of standards, after all, and Arteta can hardly point to a lack of support if he fails to end the club's title drought.

He is still only 42, of course. Time is on his side and he's improving all the time. But it's worth pointing out that Emery is evolving too. He is a better coach now than he was at the Emirates.

"When he signed for Villa I was over the moon," revealed Aston Villa's former Arsenal goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. "I knew how well he worked. But he surprised me as well how he had developed as a manager. It is his second time in the Premier League, he was probably more prepared. He can make decisions here rather than listen to those above. For me, he is one of the top five managers in the world right now."

Emery has the CV to support that claim; Arteta does not. That's the difference between the two men, for now at least...