PREMIER LEAGUE
Arsenal players can challenge for titles, Emery insists
Unai Emery is happy to work with the players he will inherit at Arsenal, while Ivan Gazidis says he will be backed in the transfer market.
New Arsenal head coach Unai Emery believes he already has the players at his disposal to challenge for major honours.
The former Paris Saint-Germain and Sevilla boss takes on a club without Champions League football after the final season of Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign ended in a sixth-place Premier League finish.
Emery impressed Arsenal's selection panel of chief executive Ivan Gazidis, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and head of football relations Raul Sanllehi to win their unanimous approval out of an eight-man field.
The 46-year-old does not believe major surgery is required at Emirates Stadium and is satisfied by the quality of the players he will inherit.
"I know all the players and think all the players are very important," he said. "All the players, for me, I think I want.
"I will be with them in this way but I will speak individually with all the players face to face.
"I believe in the players who are here. The objective is to work hard together with these talented players."
Arsenal won three FA Cups in Wenger's final five seasons at the helm but they have tended to view the Premier League title race from a distance over recent years – something Emery is keen to change.
"All the titles that will be in the next season and the future [the aim is] to be a candidate and challenge for all the titles," he said.
"That is very important for the club after two years outside the Champions League.
"We need to arrive and be with the best clubs in the Premier League and the best clubs in the world."
Building with the players he has will be the order of the day for Emery if he is restricted to a £50million transfer budget, although Gazidis questioned reports along the lines that his new man will not be backed extensively in the transfer market.
"We don't discuss our budgets publicly but we are a public company so, if any of you want to have a look at our accounts they're out there and it's not that difficult to see," Gazidis told reporters.
"We run ourselves on a very clear and transparent model that is clear and self-sustaining. All the money has always been available to our manager and all of the resources of the club will be available to Unai to help our team."