Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal have secured an emphatic 4-1 victory over Unai Emery’s Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The Villans always make it difficult for the Gunners. They beat the North Londoners at Villa Park just a few weeks ago, which is why many felt that the game on Tuesday night would be a tough one.
The first half was fairly even between the two sides, but Arsenal blew Villa away after the break thanks to goals from Gabriel Magalhaes, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus.
Those strikes were headline-worthy, but what has actually got everyone talking is Emery’s decision to snub a handshake with Arteta after the game.
Who was Arsenal’s Man of the Match against Aston Villa?
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Mikel Arteta responds to Unai Emery snubbing his handshake after Arsenal beat Aston Villa
Unai Emery was not a happy man after Arsenal beat Aston Villa.
The Spaniard was really poor during his spell as the Gunners’ boss, but he has picked up several positive results against the North Londoners since his departure.
In fact, before Tuesday night, Emery hadn’t lost a single game at the Emirates Stadium as an opposition manager, but that streak came to an end.
Arsenal smashed four past Villa, which is the most goals they have conceded all season. That clearly annoyed Emery, so much so that he didn’t even shake Mikel Arteta’s hand after the game.
The Villa boss just walked down the tunnel, which, in our opinion, was very disrespectful.
Arteta, however, is a classy man, and he didn’t make much of the handshake snub after the game on Tuesday night.
He said in his post-match press conference, as per Arsenal.com: “You saw it, but it’s okay, it’s all good. It’s okay, that’s part of the game, and it’s not an issue.”
Be honest. What was your immediate reaction to seeing Unai Emery snub a handshake with Mikel Arteta?
Photo by Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images
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Arsenal fans think Unai Emery is lying about the handshake incident
Emery walking down the tunnel without shaking Arteta’s hand was really surprising to see, but what was not a surprise was that he was asked about it after the game.
He told Sky Sports: “I was waiting for him (Arteta), but he was with his coaches. Always, my routine is to go first to the opponent coach, shake hands and then go inside or to my coaches. But firstly, always it is to go to the opponent coach. If he’s not doing the same rule, I can’t wait.”
Since he said that, new footage of the incident has emerged on social media, which shows that Emery actually didn’t wait for the Arsenal boss. He just walked straight down the tunnel after the game.
Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images
Arsenal fans have since called him out.
One tweeted: “Emery is a liar. Arteta gave his staff a high-five and straight after went to shake his hand.”
Another wrote: “Unai Emery has straight up lied in his post-match interview with Sky, saying he didn’t shake hands because Mikel left him waiting and he was cold.”
“Waited? Lies. He never waited,” said another.
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