Unai Emery did not duck the question and was unequivocal in his answer: his aim is to challenge for the Premier League title and for us to be "among the best in Europe".
Our new head coach was clear and precise in laying out his objectives, and he also told the media about relishing taking on the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho.
This is what he said:
on his aims and targets…
I believe the players who are here, the objective is to work together, to work hard with this talent. The target is to be a candidate and to challenge for the title. It is very important for the club after two years outside the Champions League to work this way, to be the best club, the best team in the Premier League and also in the world.
on how big this challenge is…
It’s a great challenge. In my career, every year I’ve grown up with a new challenge. For me, the challenge is a dream come true.
on what would be success for him this season…
Developing - but how do you develop? I think that’s about battling for every title. That’s something that’s in Arsenal’s history, it’s in my history as well and I want that to continue. Our objective is to be among the best in Europe, so those are the two objectives. I also want the team to make the fans proud. I know they are already but I want them to be even more so.
on his plan to bring the Premier League and the Champions League to the club…
We want to work to improve individually and collectively all we can. All the titles are important for us. I think we can, and we want to be candidates for them. I don’t promise today we will win, but I can promise you that we will work hard, we will together and we will work with emotion, with demands to find all the results.
on how much he relishes going up against Guardiola and Mourinho…
I’m thinking about the present and the future. In terms of my past experience, that makes me feel stronger and it also allows me to have a guide in terms of my future trajectory. I’m very excited to be here, very excited to compete against some top coaches and very excited to play against some top teams. I have to say that right now, the Premier League is right at the top. Everyone wants to be in the best leagues. I speak with a lot of coaches, those are private conversations, but now that I am here, all information is welcome.
on how hard Wenger is to follow…
It’s a big challenge for me but I’ve also worked with other big projects. For me, I am proud to be here, to work after Arsène Wenger.
Copyright 2024 The Arsenal Football Club Limited. Permission to use quotations from this article is granted subject to appropriate credit being given to www.arsenal.com as the source.
