Unai Emery defends decision not to shake Mikel Arteta hand as Arsenal beat Villa

By Philip Duncan, Press Association

Unai Emery defended his decision not to shake Mikel Arteta’s hand by claiming it was “cold” at the Emirates after his former club Arsenal ran riot to secure a statement 4-1 win.

Arsenal sit five points clear at the top of the Premier League following second-half goals from Gabriel, Martin Zubimendi, Leandro Trossard and Gabriel Jesus. Ollie Watkins scored a consolation for Aston Villa in injury time.

Villa had been on a club record-equalling 11-match winning streak but they were dismantled by Arteta’s side in brutal fashion in a defeat which leaves them six points off the championship pace.

At the final whistle, Arteta shared a brief embrace with his backroom staff before he headed to the opposing dugout to greet Emery.

However, the Spaniard had already made his way down the tunnel following a handshake with fourth official Thomas Kirk.

“It is simple,” said Emery when asked about the non-handshake in his post-match press conference.

“You can watch. After I finish the match, my routine is always quick, I shake hands, and I go with my coaches, with my players to the dressing room.

“I was waiting, I was waiting. He was happy, of course he was happy. He was with his coaches. And I decided to go inside. But for me it is no problem.”

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— Premier League (@premierleague) December 30, 2025

Further vindicating his decision to Sky Sports, Emery added: “Always my routine is go to the opposition coach, shake hands and go inside. If he is not doing the same rule, I can’t wait… it was cold.”

Arteta, who succeeded Emery as manager of Arsenal, said of the post-match flashpoint: “You saw it, but it’s OK, it’s all good. That is part of the game and it’s not unusual at all.”

After scraping past Wolves, Everton and Brighton in their previous three fixtures, Arsenal were far from their fluent best in a first half where the weight of expectation of ending a 22-year wait for a title appeared to be hanging over them.

But they came alive after the break with a performance which will serve as a warning to Manchester City ahead of their match against Sunderland on Thursday.

“I’m so happy,” said Arteta of his side’s emphatic display. “We play every three days, and today we played an opponent that has won 11 games in a row.

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— Arsenal (@Arsenal) December 30, 2025

“They are a superb team, very difficult to play against, and we knew that we were going to have periods throughout the game.

“We talked about emotionally how demanding it was going to be and we struggled in the first 10 minutes. Then we adjusted, got a bit more control. We didn’t manage to score and then in the second half we clicked.

“We competed for everything much better. The timing was better and the individual goals were fulfilled in an extraordinary way, and we were so efficient in everything that we did.

“Unlike in the last few games where we had so many big situations, today we were very prolific and accurate to make the difference.”