Premier League Boss: Arsenal Made An “Excellent” Appointment In Unai Emery

Chris Hughton admires what he sees in Unai Emery…

Brighton boss Chris Hughton believes we made a fine appointment in Unai Emery and has been impressed by how smoothly the club is transitioning under the Spaniard, he told The Seagulls’ official website.

Emery, after we lost our opening two Premier League games against Manchester City and Chelsea, led the club through a 22-match unbeaten run which ended last week at Southampton.

The transition from Arsene Wenger to Emery was predicted to be a rough one and while we’re not where we want to be, we’re competing for a place in the top four.

Also, given Emery’s pedigree in the Europa League, that tournament has now become a viable route to the Champions League next season.

And, ahead of our Boxing Day trip to the Amex Stadium, Hughton knows it will be a tough test.

“If I look at what Arsenal are producing at this moment — to go on the unbeaten run that they did, under a new manager who’s still feeling his way in, I think that was excellent,” the former Newcastle United boss was quoted as saying.

“Unai is a coach that’s prepared to change things early, he’s very enthusiastic. I’ve met him on a couple of occasions and my first impression was that Arsenal had made an excellent appointment.

“The main difference is that they’re pressing harder in certain areas, but I think he’s still looking to develop the team, seeing who the best players are in the best positions.

“You can only judge somebody by the start that they’ve made, and for me, Arsenal has been excellent so far.”

If we’re to seriously challenge for the top four, we need to take advantage of the festive period and with a tough trip to Anfield on the horizon, anything less than three points at Brighton would be a disappointment.