Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has explained why he didn’t shake hands with Mikel Arteta after the defeat at Arsenal
23:14, 30 Dec 2025Updated 00:03, 31 Dec 2025
Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta
Unai Emery has explained that he didn’t shake Mikel Arteta’s hand immediately after Aston Villa’s defeat at the Emirates Stadium because the Arsenal boss left him waiting.
The defeat marked Villa’s first in nearly two months, ending a remarkable 11-match winning run.
Villa contained their hosts well in the first half but fell behind early in the second when Gabriel beat Emi Martinez to the ball from a corner.
Martin Zubimendi then doubled Arsenal’s lead shortly after, before Leandro Trossard added a third after the hour mark.
Moments after coming on, Gabriel Jesus made it 4-0, though Ollie Watkins scored a consolation late on, tapping in from close range following some neat work from Donyell Malen.
After the full-time whistle, Emery waited to shake Arteta’s hand but eventually headed down to the dressing room due to his counterpart’s prolonged celebrations with his staff.
“It is simple, you can watch. Always my routine is quick,” Emery said when asked why he didn’t shake Arteta’s hand.
“I shake hands and then go with my players and coaches into the dressing room. I was waiting.
“He [Arteta] was waiting and he was with his coaches. I decided to go inside. For me it is no problem.”
Speaking about the game, Emery said: “We competed fantastic in the first half and we had momentum. We had corners and defended well too. We didn’t concede a corner in the first half.
“We felt comfortable, but we conceded the first goal in the second half. Onana’s injury didn’t help us as he is important from set-pieces and in the middle.
“We didn’t give up and we competed like we were doing. We were not giving up and we scored one goal and had other chances. Arsenal are the best team in the league and they are the favourite to win the title.
“I don’t know if it is the day 19 or 20 because we have played Arsenal twice and then we play Nottingham. But I am happy with how we have set our ambitious demands.”
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