My Relationship With Monchi Is Good – Unai Emery

Unai Emery has talked up his relationship with Monchi amid speculation that the Roma sporting director could replace outgoing head of recruitment Sven Mislintat at Arsenal.

Emery and Monchi worked together at Sevilla where they won the Europa League three times in a row between 2014 and 2016.

“Now I can only say he [Monchi] is working in Roma,” Emery told a news conference.

“I worked very well with him in Sevilla. My Relationship With Monchi Is Good but the issue is only the club’s responsibility.

“I can only say he is a good person and a good professional. Maybe if you do this recruitment very quickly you can make a mistake.

“I think it’s better to be calm and finding the best possible person to do this work. I think the club is working on that with responsibility, but it’s not my issue.

“If the club decides to sign a sporting director, I agree with them.”

Arsenal drew 2-2 at United during the final stages of Jose Mourinho’s reign but Emery said Solskjaer has transformed the club in the wake of the Portuguese coach’s departure.

“It’s a different team,” Emery said. “It’s the same players but they’re playing with a big performance now. I was watching their last matches and each player has a lot of confidence, with big performances, and now they are very dangerous.

“For us, it’s good because it’s a very big test for us in this competition. Manchester United and us have played 20 finals in the FA Cup, and we’ve won 13 and they’ve won 12. For this competition, it’s the best match to play.

“We are looking forward to playing this match on Friday because it’s at our stadium, the Emirates, in front of our supporters. We feel very well in front of them and we want to create a new atmosphere over 90 minutes on Friday, together with our supporters.”