“Good ebening,” Unai Emery would state courteously at the start of press appearances, provoking mirth in England because of his shaky pronunciation.
It became a catchphrase used to mock him, including in a grime song about Arsenal released by south London musician VxMP.
“Hands up if you managed PSG and you lost the league, one-man league and you lost it,” scorned the rapper in ‘Good Ebening’. "Sacked at Spartak Moscow and he made big PSG hold six. You lot did Arsene Wenger dirty.”
It was a curt summary of Emery’s troubles in recent years, but this season the coach has locked the skeletons up in the closet, double-locked the doors and is focusing on Europa League glory. Again.
Villarreal face Manchester United in the Europa League final on Wednesday and the coach can win the competition for a record fourth time. It wasn’t always the plan, though.
After a remarkable hat-trick of triumphs with Sevilla in 2014, 2015 and 2016, Emery set his sights on something more. He replaced Laurent Blanc at Paris Saint-Germain.
The Spaniard’s first season in Paris was a disaster, with Monaco pipping his team to Ligue 1, ending a four-year streak of PSG wins. Worse still, after a 4-0 win over Barcelona in the Champions League last 16, his team threw it away at Camp Nou.
Barcelona’s 6-1 ‘Remontada’ went down in history as one of the most shocking and incredible nights ever in the competition.
PSG, surprisingly, gave him another chance and, although he won Ligue 1 at the second attempt, another Champions League KO, this time at the hands of Real Madrid, meant he had to be removed.
The coach landed at Arsenal in May 2018, replacing club legend Arsene Wenger. The Gunners had finally lost patience with the French coach after the club lost their grip on the top four and began to play Europa League football.
Unfortunately for Emery, he could not inspire them to anything more. They finished fifth and were thrashed 4-1 by Chelsea in the Europa League final, unable to secure Champions League qualification via that route.
Getty Images
Emery spent big in the summer, breaking a club transfer record with the £72 million ($100m) signing of Nicolas Pepe from Lille, a player who is still yet to shine in the Premier League.
Results did not follow and the coach lost respect from his charges, some even mocking his accent behind his back. With the fans and media also against him, Arsenal went on the club's longest winless run since 1992 and Emery was sacked in November 2019.
He stewed on it for a few months, before returning to his native Spain to start afresh with Villarreal at the start of the season.
Emery had enjoyed a successful spell in his early years on Spain’s east coast with Valencia, so it was a real homecoming when he was back in his comfort zone. It quickly began to pay dividends.
Back working in his native language, able to interact with players fully and deliver his detailed tactical instructions, Emery was confident again.
Crucially, he was also respected. In Spain the mockery that he suffered in England held no water, with his Sevilla and Valencia body of work considered far more relevant when assessing his reputation.
Even the remontada was only referred to when he was back at Camp Nou. That’s where the 2020-21 season began, and his team were given a 4-0 thrashing. Emery apologised to supporters for the team’s performance but they quickly found their feet. Villarreal went 19 games unbeaten after that, breaking a club record.
Using both the good and bad experiences under his belt from his time abroad, Emery has chiselled Villarreal into a tough, respectable side. He was flexible enough in his thinking to shift from a pre-season set-up with more creativity to a sterner, more combative midfield.
Away from Paris and London, in the small Castellon city, there are no distractions and no superstar figures like Neymar or Kylian Mbappe to manage.
That Villarreal’s outstanding talent, Gerard Moreno, is a media-shy, hard worker is undoubtedly a boon for the coach. It sets the tone, not only for the dressing room but Emery’s tactical set-up too.
Getty Images
The club loaned Real Madrid youngster Takefusa Kubo but his spark was too raw for Emery and he let the Japanese forward go, cutting the loan short.
Without many world-class stars, the coach could play how he liked, and has. Although the Yellow Submarine are not an exciting side under Emery, they are a tough one to face. That’s how they went so many games unbeaten, even if they drew more of them than they would have liked.
Regardless of whether his team oust Manchester United to win the Europa League in Gdansk, Emery will consider his season a success, his reputation rehabilitated.
Perhaps the finest moment of it came when beating Arsenal in the semi-finals, ending their hopes of appearing in Europe next season too and getting one over his compatriot and Emirates successor Mikel Arteta.
“Good ebening, Gunners!” tweeted Mesut Ozil ahead of the semi-final second leg (it’s part of the zeitgeist at this point), recalling the bad atmosphere the coach left behind in London.
But Emery left with a 2-1 aggregate victory and a place in the final against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Manchester United. Next season will be the first in 26 campaigns that Arsenal will not have played European football. While the Gunners sink, Emery has set his sights on silverware, and a Champions League spot come the autumn.
"Villarreal controlled the tactics, Emery I thought was too smart for Arteta,” admitted Arsenal legend Martin Keown on BT Sport .
The Europa League is, after all, Emery’s territory. This is his fifth Europa League final, but it is Villarreal’s first. He has taken them to the next level, something they have been yearning for.
“I am lucky enough to have coached over there, although it ended in unwanted circumstances,” said Emery, politely, ahead of the confrontation with Arsenal. It was fitting of his dignified behaviour while with the London club, even if he was viewed as a laughing stock.
Back in his comfort zone, Emery has taken Villarreal outside theirs, and is receiving the plaudits he deserves for his achievements this season.