Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag with Arsenal and Manchester United badges
A pundit has named the shock Premier League manager he thinks is better than Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta and Erik ten Hag of Manchester United.
Arteta was named Arsenal manager in December 2019, following the sacking of Unai Emery the previous month. Arteta started off his Arsenal reign well, helping the Gunners win the FA Cup at the end of his first season in charge.
However, they only managed an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League that campaign and failed to get any higher in the league the following year. That resulted in some fans questioning whether Arteta had enough experience for the job.
However, he proved the doubters wrong by guiding Arsenal to fifth in the Prem during his third season at the Emirates. And they enjoyed their best campaign yet under his management in 2022-23, pushing Manchester City hard for the Prem title and ultimately finishing in second on 84 points.
Ten Hag, meanwhile, has enjoyed a good debut season at Old Trafford, as Man Utd got themselves back in the Champions League by finishing third in the Prem, while also winning the Carabao Cup. They were hoping to add the Europa League and FA Cup to that triumph, but they were knocked out of Europe in the last eight and lost the FA Cup final to rivals City.
Ten Hag also had a great spell with Ajax, helping them win three Eredivisie titles and two Dutch cups. Despite the successes of both Arteta and Ten Hag, talkSPORT pundit Rory Jennings has surprisingly claimed Aston Villa boss Unai Emery is better than either of them.
Revealing his order of the best Prem managers, Jennings said: “I think Pep Guardiola is in a league of his own, then second I think Jurgen Klopp is in a league of his own [too].”
When asked about Arteta and Ten Hag, Jennings replied: “No, they’re not one rung below, I think they’re two rungs below. I think Unai Emery is better than the two you just suggested.”
Big praise for Aston Villa boss Unai Emery
Jennings’ co-host was surprised about this. And when he quizzed Jennings on the order, the pundit added: “100 per cent [Emery is better]. Emery is a far better manager than the two you just mentioned. Definitely.
“Arsenal fans are very protective over this theory, but it is true. Emery is a better manager than Arteta, he has actually proved that. I know it didn’t go particularly well for him at Arsenal, and I know they [Arsenal fans] look down on the Emery era…”
Jennings continued: “He came back with Villarreal, he came back to the Emirates, won the game [and] slapped Arteta at home with Villarreal.
“Also, let’s remember where Arsenal were when Emery was in charge. Emery had Arsenal – who have a pitiful record in Europe – he had them in a European final. OK, it didn’t go well, Chelsea beat them in Baku, but he had them in a final and he had them fifth in the league.
“He left, they then finished eighth twice under Arteta. OK, they had a bit of a resurgence last year where they competed and created the illusion that we had a title race. But Emery is a far better manager than Arteta as of today, I don’t even think that’s controversial. And Ten Hag in fact.”
Jennings’ remarks come after Emery helped Sevilla win three Europa League titles, while also triumphing in the competition with Villarreal. More recently, he has done an exceptional job to help Villa charge up the Prem table and qualify for next season’s Europa Conference League.
But, after Emery’s previous struggles with Arsenal, Gunners fans and Man Utd supporters will certainly have something to say about Jennings’ comments.
