Soccer: Spaniard Emery named as new Arsenal manager

LONDON (Reuters) - Arsenal named Spaniard Unai Emery as their first new manager for 22 years on Wednesday following Arsene Wenger’s departure at the end of the last campaign.

The Premier League club's website www.arsenal.com said the 46-year-old would join as head coach, having spent the last two years at Paris St Germain, with whom he recently claimed a domestic treble.

Announcing the appointment, Arsenal chief executive Ivan Gazidis said: “Unai has an outstanding track record of success throughout his career, has developed some of the best young talent in Europe and plays an exciting, progressive style of football that fits Arsenal perfectly.

“His hard-working and passionate approach and his sense of values on and off the pitch make him the ideal person to take us forward.”

Frenchman Wenger’s final season in charge, having taken over in 1996, ended in disappointment with Arsenal finishing sixth in the Premier League — missing out on Champions League qualification for the second season in a row.

Emery said he was “excited” about following in Wenger’s footsteps and beginning a “new chapter” for the club.

“I am thrilled to be joining one of the great clubs in the game. Arsenal is known and loved throughout the world for its style of play, its commitment to young players, the fantastic stadium, the way the club is run,” he said.

“I’m very excited to be given the responsibility to start this important new chapter in Arsenal’s history.”

Before his spell at PSG, Emery spent three seasons at Sevilla, taking the Spanish club to three consecutive Europa League titles.