Unai Emery reached 50 games in charge in some style on Thursday night as we beat Napoli to reach the Europa League semi-finals.
His record of 32 wins and seven draws is better than any previous incumbent has achieved in that time, so how does he feel about his start to life in north London?
Read on for a transcript of what he told the media:
on being in charge for 50 games and winning more than any other Arsenal manager...
I want to win all the matches I play. I want to be here with the possibility to win something important with Arsenal. I am happy but above all I am happy because there is a lot of respect from everybody to me and also I think we are in our process and improving, finishing the end of the season with two very clear objectives and it is in our hands to do something important. After really, my vision is only the moment, my expectation is the next match and looking to win it and enjoy it with our supporters at the Emirates.
on having a better record than his predecessors at this stage…
I am proud of the players, of the club, of the supporters, of our situation now with the possibility in the Europa League semi-final and in the Premier League to fight for third and fourth position, to play next year in the Champions League. But we know that every day is going to be difficult and in the key moments we need to be focused 100 per cent on the next match and everybody is concentrated to do the best and all we can to take and to give our supporters a good moment.
on whether he’s on target for his aims…
Our achievements come with progress. This is a process with the players, the new coaches and new staff. I was respecting a lot before Arsene was done because he worked here for a long time, improving a lot and helping this club to become bigger. I’m here now to continue this process. It’s something different, with my personality, my ideas and stye, but above all I’ve kept a lot of positives that he worked here. After a new spirit and a new energy, I can give this club. But above all it’s a big responsibility with big ambition, because we want to play Champions league again, and we want to be closer to the possibility of taking a title. Also, with each match we can show our supporters our quality, work, spirit and energy, playing with intensity, aggressiveness and scoring a lot. Each match can give us a different situation we can enjoy with our supporters, playing and watching intense matches with a good result, but above all doing it in a good way.
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