Jens Lehmann has questioned Arsenal’s decision to hire Unai Emery as manager following the departure of Arsene Wenger in 2018.
Wenger spent more than two decades in charge in north London and became the most successful manager in the club’s history, winning three Premier League titles and a record seven FA Cups during his time with the Gunners.
The club’s faltering fortunes led to his departure two years ago, however, causing users of the Sky Bet promotional code to speculate on who the Gunners new manager would be, with Arsenal eventually announcing the appointment of former Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain boss Emery as his replacement.
The Spaniard guided the club to the Europa League final and a fifth-placed finish in his debut season, before a disappointing start to the current campaign saw him sacked and replaced by Mikel Arteta.
Former Arsenal ‘keeper Lehmann has now given a damning assessment of Emery’s time at the club and believes the coach made a major mistake when it came to appointing his backroom staff.
“I was there as an assistant coach two years ago but then Arsene has left and they have changed the whole managerial team and I think they made a mistake by choosing the wrong guys,” Lehmann told Stadium Astro.
“The people at the top sometimes don’t know what I know about football and they didn’t experience how to win things. So it’s not easy for them.
“I think he wanted to bring his own staff who couldn’t even speak English.
“Then a guy like me, who was a player for them, I think he just didn’t want us.
“I think it was a big present to him that he was picked as a manager for Arsenal because I think he was not good enough because he had this lingual problem.
“He may have some good ideas in Spanish but he never came across as being transferrable to English football.”
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