Struggling Arsenal needed fresh start after Wenger - Emery

Arsenal manager Unai Emery has claimed the club needed a breath of fresh air after 22 years of Arsene Wenger and that he took over a team in decline.

Former PSG coach Emery has enjoyed an encouraging first few months as Wenger's successor, with Arsenal currently unbeaten in 16 matches and buoyed by impressive performances against Liverpool, Fulham and Leicester.

They remain three points adrift of the Premier League's top four but Emery appears to have injected energy into a team that was stagnating under Wenger.

"Nowadays it's very difficult for a coach to stay 22 years," Emery said in an interview with Spanish sports daily Marca on Thursday.

"We had to rearrange the furniture, and not because of anything bad that happened previously, but to stimulate everyone again -- to shake things up, sweep under the carpets, open the windows -- in a positive way."
"What I want is to unite both aspects and be more competitive. Arsenal was in decline. We had to stop that and start climbing."
"What I do is work. I analyse matches and then I transfer it to video and I teach the players."
He added: "When I left Valencia, I told the president I was more a tactics coach than a player coach. I don't have time to analyse players. I am more tactical. Wenger was, for example, more about pure football, about players."