Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta Non-Handshake Incident: New Footage Emerges

Unai Emery and Mikel Arteta Non-Handshake Incident: New Footage Emerges

Aston Villa’s 11-match winning streak came to an end on Tuesday night as Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal picked up a rather routine-looking 4-1 victory over the Villa Park outfit and new footage has shown what happened between Unai Emery and Arteta upon the full-time whistle being blown.

After a tricky first half with both sides struggling to find an opener, the second-half performance from the north Londoners had all the hallmarks of champions. Gabriel drew first blood three minutes after the interval before Martin Zubimendi made it two just four minutes later.

Leandro Trossard added a third with just over 20 minutes of regulation time left before Gabriel Jesus scored within seconds of replacing Viktor Gyokeres to extend their lead to 4-0. Ollie Watkins bagged a consolation but much of the post-match talk was focused on Emery and Arteta’s non-interaction.

Watch the highlights from Arsenal 4-1 Aston Villa below: mikel arteta arsenalReturning to the club he made for 78 matches between July 2018 and November 2019, Emery would’ve had every hope of picking up three points given the fruitful run he and his side have been on over the last couple of months or so. The Villans’ last defeat in all competitions, before Tuesday night, came on November 1 when Liverpool beat them 2-0 at Anfield.

But it wasn’t to be for the visitors and as the final whistle was blown, Arteta – widely regarded as one of the best managers in world football – and his entourage embraced one another before he walked across the touchline towards the Villa dugout, seemingly to find Emery.Understandably delighted to have picked up a pivotal win in the race for the 2025/26 Premier League title, Arteta initially turned around to speak to the Villa chief, but a look of bewilderment was the response instead, as Emery was nowhere to be seen.

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Although it isn’t written in a rule book that managers have to exchange a handshake after the match, it’s common courtesy within football that those in the respective dugouts – irrespective of whether they have won or lost – meet on the touchline after the match to congratulate one another.

But that wasn’t the case for Emery after losing to his former club. New footage of the non-handshake incident, however, shows the former Paris Saint-Germain boss, following a handshake with fourth official Thomas Kirk, walking straight towards the tunnel as soon as the match was over.

A potential explanation is because Emery wasn’t willing to wait around and watch Arteta, who has been in charge of Arsenal for north of six years now, and his backroom staff celebrate their home victory.

Fans rushed to X (formerly Twitter) to question Emery’s decision to rush down the tunnel rather than exchange post-match pleasantries with Arsenal’s man in the dugout. “Did Emery leg it without shaking Arteta’s hand???” one questioned as another said: “Emery ducking Arteta and going straight down the tunnel after he’s been taught a footballing lesson is a perfect encapsulation of him.”

Emery Defends His Decision to Not Shake Hands with ArtetaUnai EmeryWhen quizzed about why he didn’t shake hands with his compatriot Arteta, Emery said: “Yes, I was waiting for him, but he was with his coaches. Always, my routine is to go over to the first one, the opponent’s coach, shake his hand, and then go inside or with my coaches.”

But firstly, always I go [over to] the opponent’s coach. If he is not doing the same rule, I can’t wait, but nothing happened,” he continued before the reporter asked him to clear up whether he was upset with his Arsenal counterpart. Emery was animated in his response.

“No, no, no, no, no! I am so happy, even losing today and, overall, I’m so happy with how we are doing,” he said before being asked, “So there’s no big issue?”

“Not for me. I can’t wait… it was cold.”

Now, after their terrific win on home soil, Arsenal are sitting five points clear of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City at the summit of the Premier League. They travel down to Bournemouth next, while Villa – now six points off the table-topping Gunners – are set to play host to Nottingham Forest.

Arsenal and Aston Villa – Next Five Fixtures

Arsenal Aston Villa

Date Opponent (H/A) Date Opponent (H/A)03/01/26 Bournemouth (A) 03/01/26 Nottingham Forest (H)08/01/26 Liverpool (H) 07/01/26 Crystal Palace (A)17/01/26 Nottingham Forest (A) 18/01/26 Everton (H)25/01/26 Manchester United (H) 25/01/26 Newcastle United (A)31/01/26 Leeds United (A) 01/02/26 Brenford (H)