Villarreal appoint former Arsenal manager Emery

Villarreal have hired former Arsenal manager Unai Emery as their new coach after they parted ways with fellow Spaniard Javi Calleja, the La Liga club said on Thursday.

Emery, who was sacked by the Premier League club in November after 18 months, began his managerial career in La Liga, where he previously ran Valencia and Sevilla.

He led Sevilla to three consecutive Europa League titles in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

“Villarreal CF have reached an agreement with Unai Emery for the Basque manager to be Yellows head coach for the next three seasons,” the club said in a statement.

Emery, who also managed Paris St-Germain (PSG) for two seasons, was let go by Arsenal.

That was after the club won only four of their 13 league matches at the start of the current season.

While success eluded him in England, Emery has a proven track record of getting Spanish teams into the UEFA Champions League.

He finished third three times with Valencia, in addition to his Europa League feats with Sevilla.

Calleja managed Villarreal for 15 months before being dismissed in December 2018, only to be reinstated to the post six weeks later.

This season he led them to a fifth-place finish to qualify for the Europa League.(Reuters/NAN)