Emery at The Emirates

LONDON (AP):

Unai Emery is the biggest change to come to Arsenal in 22 years, but the club's new head coach wants things to look very much the same when the Gunners are playing.

The 46-year-old Spaniard became the English Premier League club's first managerial hire since 1996 when the club ended weeks of speculation by announcing that Emery was the replacement for Arsene Wenger.

Following two seasons with French champion Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), Emery has been charged with arresting the club's slide without altering its famed style of play, as Arsenal prepares to enter a second consecutive season without UEFA Champions League football.

The fluid, possession-dominant style of football that Arsenal became known for under Wenger is something both the club and Emery want to maintain.

INTENSIVE SQUAD NEEDED

"The history here is a team who loves playing with the possession of the ball. I like this personality, I like (being) this protagonist with the ball," he said. "When you don't have possession of the ball, I want a squad that is very intensive with pressing."

A former midfielder with Real Sociedad, Emery coached Valencia from 2008-12 before taking charge of Sevilla in 2013, following a brief spell at Spartak Moscow.

Emery's reputation was elevated after guiding Sevilla to three straight Europa League titles, but he could not make an impact in the continent's more illustrious competition.

PSG became the first team in the Champions League to be eliminated from the knockout stage after winning the first match 4-0, losing 6-1 at Barcelona in the return leg of the last 16 in 2017 and then failed to reach the quarter-finals again in Emery's final season, beaten home and away by Real Madrid.

Despite this, the Arsenal hierarchy is confident that Emery's arrival can put an end to the discontent that has crept into the Emirates, both on and off the field.

"We believe our players will respond to the new energy that Unai brings," Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said. "I think they will have somebody under whom they can improve their individual games and our collective game. ... I strongly believe that our fans, when they see the energy that Unai can bring with his qualities to the club, will embrace that."