Aston Villa manager Unai Emery explains why he didn’t shake hands with Mikel Arteta after Arsenal’s heavy defeat: ‘It’s simple’

Arsenal currently sit six points behind third-placed Villa, but Emery’s side remain in a good position to qualify for next season’s UEFA Champions League, as they have a nine-point buffer each over Chelsea and Manchester United in fifth and sixth place.

But that wasn’t what the Villa manager was thinking when the final whistle blew in north London.

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Arteta immediately celebrated with his coaching staff, collectively congratulating him for a night’s work.

Without waiting for his turn to be acknowledged, Emery shook hands with the fourth official and immediately headed down the tunnel. Arteta walked along the watershed looking for his predecessor and appeared surprised to find that he was not waiting on the touchline.

When asked about no handshakes at the post-match press conference, Emery answered, “It’s simple.”

“Look, after the game, my routine is always quick, shake hands and go to the locker room with the coaches and players.

“I was waiting, waiting. He was happy, of course he was happy. He was with the coach. And I decided to go in. But for me it doesn’t matter.”

Arteta says not shaking hands is ‘not unusual’

Emery added in an interview with Sky Sports: “Usually my routine is to go up to the opposition coach, shake his hand and go in. If he doesn’t follow the same rules, I can’t wait… It was cold.”

Villa made a belated comeback in the eight minutes of second-half stoppage time, with Ollie Watkins scoring his third goal of the period to keep Arsenal clean.

However, Watkins’ goal was of little consolation as Villa were conceded four goals in the 30 minutes after half-time.

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Arteta, who replaced Emery as Arsenal manager in December 2019, was all smiles during his post-match media duties, celebrating his team’s ruthlessness after recent unconvincing wins against Wolves, Everton and Brighton.

Arteta downplayed the significance of Emery appearing to be disrespected full-time, although there are signs from the big win over Villa that Arsenal can withstand the weight of expectations of ending a 22-year wait for a Premier League title.

“You saw it, but it’s okay, it’s okay. It’s part of the game and it’s not unusual at all,” he said.

Arteta added: “I’m very happy. We play every three days and today we played against a side who have won 11 games in a row.

“They are a great team, very difficult to play against, and we knew there would be periods throughout the game.

“We talked about how tough the game was going to be emotionally, and we struggled for the first 10 minutes. Then we adjusted and got a little more control. We didn’t score, but we did well in the second half.”

“We competed much better in everything. The timing was better, individual goals were achieved in an exceptional way and we were very efficient in everything we did.”

“Unlike the last few games where we had a lot of big moments, today we were able to make the difference very prolifically and accurately.”