Unai Emery was unable to sign ‘at least three’ of his Arsenal summer transfer targets.
Emery was sacked at the end of last month after overseeing a seven-game winless run that has now stretched to nine under Freddie Ljungberg’s interim tutelage.
The Spaniard was appointed as Arsene Wenger’s successor in May 2018 and, despite signs of promise in his first season, ended it in fifth place with a Europa League runner-up medal.
That inability to qualify for the Champions League significantly stunted him last summer, with the late appointment of technical director Edu similarly harmful to their plans.
The Athletic says Emery wanted Harry Maguire, Thomas Partey and Wilfried Zaha, with none of the moves materialising.
Despite being a fan of ‘Maguire’s ability to defend and play out from the back,’ Arsenal ‘stood no chance’ in an £80m race Manchester United were always likely to win.
Atletico Madrid midfielder Partey ‘was apparently desperate’ to move to north London but his £50m release clause proved ‘too expensive’ for a club ‘committing the bulk of their resources to bringing in a wide player’.
Zaha was Emery’s primary target in that respect as he ‘needed no time to adapt to the Premier League’ and had impressed against Arsenal, but Nicolas Pepe was chosen by the hierarchy ‘because of his younger age’.
The report also reveals ‘frustration that a specialist right-back was not acquired’. Should have got Stephan Lichtsteiner back in.
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