Poor communication, lack of respect from players forced Emery out of Arsenal

The only surprise this morning was that it took so long. Staff have been bracing themselves for Unai Emery’s sacking for weeks.

So, too, have the players; exchanging WhatsApp messages at the expense of their beleaguered boss.

It wasn’t that they disliked Emery. Well, that isn’t entirely true - certain members of the Arsenal squad found the Spaniard irritating.

But on the whole, they found him pleasant enough. He didn’t possess the charisma or charm of his predecessor. In term of personality, Emery and Arsene Wenger are like chalk and cheese.

Wenger is the ultimate people person; engaging and always emotionally available for his players.

Emery is different, he was insular and business-like at their London Colney base.

He didn’t shut himself away; he held regular one-on-one meetings with his players and staff, who found him amiable enough - though not with Wenger’s famous wit. He was, though, guilty of keeping himself to himself - never the best way to strike a rapport with your squad.

He trusted his inner circle: Juan Carlos Carcedo, Pablo Villanueva and Victor Manas. But those at the training ground felt he was far more wary of others. For instance, Steve Bould left his position as first-team coach in the summer to take up a coaching position at the club’s academy.

The switch was viewed as a demotion, but Sportsmail understands Bould was happy to move back to academy because he felt under used within the first-team set-up.

Ironically, Bould could yet be re-introduced into the first team set-up with interim head coach Freddie Ljungberg - though the former Gunners defender is said to be hugely enjoying his role working with the club’s Under-23s.

Of course, it would be unfair to judge the Spaniard on his personality. At the end of the day, football isn’t a popularity contest. What isn’t questionable, however, was the feeling that Emery was out of his depth. That view was universally held. The final straw arrived on Saturday, the 2-2 home draw against Southampton essentially the result that cost Emery his job.