Unai Emery Reveals Arsenal's Role in Villarreal's Europa League Final Triumph
- Unai Emery enjoyed a mixed spell as Arsenal manager with his greatest highlight being reaching the Europa League final
- However, he went on to lose the title to rivals Chelsea before the Gunners booted him out six months later
- According to Emery, his sacking at the Emirates was a learning curve in his managerial career and contends lessons learnt may have helped him beat Man United
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Unai Emery has credited former employers, Arsenal, for playing a major role in Villarreal's Europa League final glory on the night of Wednesday, May 26.
Source: Getty Images
The Spanish side stunned Man United 11-10 in an epic penalty shootout in Gdansk, Poland, to lift the European title.
This marked the fourth time Emery was winning the Europa League title in his managerial career, while it was also Villarreal's first major trophy in their history.
On his way to the final, Villarreal had to knock out Arsenal in the semi-finals, a club which Emery tutored before he was unceremoniously sacked.
He was subsequently replaced with Mikel Arteta, who has since helped the Gunners win two titles including the FA Cup and Community Shield.
During his spell at the Emirates, Emery guided the north London team to another Europa League final but his side lost the title to rivals Chelsea.
Emery was then sacked six months later after the defeat, with the former Paris Saint-Germain boss now revealing the setback at Arsenal inspired him to develop as a coach.
"I believe it’s not a sporting revenge at all. I try to enjoy every moment, winning and losing. I try to create new circumstances, so everywhere I have been, even in England at Arsenal, I have learnt a lot," Emery said after Villareal's triumph.
"When I was at Arsenal, we played a Europa League final and could not win but it is a process, from that game I learnt a lot to win this one maybe," he added.
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has said he is not going to shift any blame to his players in the wake of Man United's Europa League final defeat to Villarreal.
Man United were firm favourites to lift the European title in Gdansk, Poland, on the night of Wednesday, May 26, only for them to suffer a disappointing loss.
Spanish League giants Villarreal emerged Europa League champions after beating Man United 11-10 on penalties.
The game was settled by the spot kicks after both sides played a 1-1 draw in the regulation period with Gerard Moreno and Edinson Cavani scoring for either side.
Geronimo Rulli was the hero for Villarreal after saving his fellow goalkeeper David De Gea's spot-kick to put an end to the marathon between the two sides.
Source: Legit.ng
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