Unai Emery moans about Arsenal again

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Unai Emery has raised more complaints about Arsenal, claiming Morgan Rogers has been targeted by opponents and pointing to a challenge from Mikel Merino.

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Unai Emery has again been moaning about Arsenal, claiming Morgan Rogers was the “victim of dirty tactics” and pointing to a challenge by Mikel Merino that he said should have resulted in a second yellow card when his team were thrashed 4-1 at the Emirates almost three weeks ago.

Emery, whose Aston Villa side face Everton at home on Sunday, said Rogers has become a target for opponents since emerging as a key player for Villa.

“Morgan is very important for us and sometimes they are trying to kick him and stop him, sometimes being close to a yellow card or red card,” Emery told reporters.

“At Arsenal, the foul by Mikel Merino on Morgan was a clear second yellow card.” Villa have played three games since.

Emery also said the game is becoming increasingly physical and suggested his squad would need to respond. “We need to adapt quickly to how football is changing,” he said.

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“Morgan is a fighter and likes to fight with the defenders. But we need to be aware of how football is changing. There is more contact and fewer fouls.

“When we played Arsenal there were a lot of duels and the contact was so, so strong.”

After the game that saw Emery’s side humiliated, the former Arsenal manager rushed down the tunnel, refusing to wait to shake Arteta’s hand. Then, he lied about it.

“I was waiting for him, but he was with his coaches,” Emery claimed to Sky Sports. “Firstly [I] always go with the opponent coach. If he’s not doing the same rule, I can’t wait. But nothing happened.

“No [issue] for me, but I can’t wait, because it was cold.”

Unfortunately for Emery, there were TV cameras at the ground that caught exactly what happened.

It took Arteta just six seconds to walk over to where Emery should have been. By that point, he was already down the tunnel.

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