By the time the axe fell, it had come to seem almost merciful. On Thursday night as Arsenal lost at home to Eintracht Frankfurt, Unai Emery looked lost, twitching vainly on the touchline in a half-empty stadium as the Emirates, an increasingly tetchy place over the past few years, raged around him. His subsequent interview was barely coherent. The end was inevitable.
Emery will be replaced by his former assistant Fredrik Ljungberg for Sunday’s game at Norwich, but there is no realistic prospect of the former Sweden international getting the job full-time. The former Juventus manager Max Allegri has already been sounded out by the Arsenal board while there is also believed to be interest in the Wolves’ boss Nuno Espirito Santo.