Unai Emery was sacked as Arsenal head coach on Friday as a difficult 18 months culminated in the Spaniard’s exit.

The 48-year-old was appointed as successor to Arsene Wenger in May 2018 having won plenty of trophies at Sevilla and Paris St Germain.

Few would have anticipated such a shambolic end to his reign at the Emirates Stadium as a sparse crowd watched his final game at the helm – a 2-1 Europa League defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt.

The result extended a winless run to seven games and saw the curtain fall on Emery’s tenure, with former Under-23s manager and assistant head coach Freddie Ljungberg appointed as his replacement on an interim basis.

Even the attempted carjacking of Mesut Ozil and Sead Kolasinac on the eve of the new season played a role in unsettling the squad.

Ozil, the club’s highest-paid player in the history of Arsenal, was also always an issue for Emery as he was unsure if the playmaker could cope with the rigours his tactics placed on his players.

A poor run of form which leaves Arsenal without a win since October 24 would ultimately cost Emery his job.

He was publicly backed by Sanllehi and Venkatesham during the international break but lasted only two more matches.