Revealed: Unai Emery told Arsenal to go after PSG's Champions League-winning boss Luis Enrique before Emirates appointment

According to Guillem Balague, it was suggested to Arsenal by Unai Emery when the Gunners were seeking a replacement for Arsene Wenger in 2018, that they should consider Luis Enrique. They didn't pursue it and ended up appointing Emery, who lasted just over a year before being sacked in December 2019, but Luis Enrique has "always entertained the idea" of coaching in English football.

Luis Enrique was out of work at the time, having taken a year off since leaving Barcelona at the end of the 2016-17 season. Balague adds that since 2008, when Luis Enrique succeeded Pep Guardiola as Barcelona B coach, Manchester United, Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur have all considered hiring him and not gone ahead with it. In turn, Luis Enrique has rejected the likes of Aston Villa, Swansea and Leeds over the years. Shortly after Arsenal appointed Emery, Luis Enrique landed the Spain gig, which he held on and off for four years as he and his family went through hell and back off the pitch.

Having guided PSG to Champions League glory for the first time in ther history, Luis Enrique joins a select group of coaches to have won the European Cup or Champions League with two different clubs. His first came with Barcelona in 2014-15, while the others on the list are Carlo Ancelotti, (AC Milan, Real Madrid), Pep Guardiola (Barcelona, Man City), Ernst Happel (Feyenoord, Hamburg), Ottmar Hitzfeld (Borussia Dortmund, Bayern Munich), Jose Mourinho (Porto, Inter) and Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid, Bayern Munich).

On the immediate horizon for Luis Enrique is whether he can PSG the new world champions at the imminent FIFA Club World Cup. As European champions, they are automatically among the favourites. In the longer term, his contract in the French capital, extended as recently as February, runs for two more years until the end of the 2026-27 season. And if he still has an idea to manage in England, that could be an opportunity to do it - Pep Guardiola's contract is due to expire at the same time, so Manchester City could well be in the market for a new boss.