Unai Emery thanked Arsene Wenger for his ‘legacy’ as he spoke to the media for the first time as the new Arsenal manager.
The Spaniard’s appointment as Wenger’s successor was confirmed on Wednesday morning.
Emery holds has enjoyed a decorated career despite his age – the 46-year-old has won ten trophies in 14 years as a manager, including three Europa League titles with Sevilla and the Ligue 1 crown with Paris Saint-Germain.
READ MORE: Who is Unai Emery? All you need to know about the new Arsenal boss
His record made him the “outstanding” candidate to continue the work of Wenger after the French coach’s legendary 22-year reign at the club.
And the new Gunners bosshas thanked his predecessor for the impact he made not only in north London, but in world football as a whole.
“We will create a new present and a new future for Arsenal,” Emery told a press conference on Wednesday.
“I want to say thank you Arsene Wenger for your legacy.
“For all the coaches in the world he is a reference. We learned, I learned from him all the things in football.”
Asked about the challenge of filling Wenger’s shoes, he added: “It’s a big challenge for me but I have worked also in other projects, big projects.
“For me, I am proud to be here and to work after Arsene Wenger.”
Asked to set targets for the upcoming season, Emery said: “Developing. But how do you develop? I think that’s about battling for every title, that’s something in Arsenal’s history and in my history as well. And I want that to continue.
“Our objective is to be among the best teams in Europe, to win titles and to be in the elite of European teams. I also want the team to make the fans proud. I know they are already and I want them to be even more so.”
He said he could not promise silverware would arrive immediately, but said there would be no shortage of effort.
“All the titles are important for us,” he said. “I think we can be and we want to be a candidate for them. I don’t promise today we will win but I can promise you we will work hard and we will work together. We will transmit our emotion and we will fight for the objectives.”
