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Release Date: Wednesday, January 23, 2019 3:33
Unai Emery thinks Manchester United is a "different team" with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer at the helm.
The Red Devils will face Arsenal Emery Friday night in the choice of meetings of the fourth round of the FA Cup.
Both teams shared a 2-2 Premier League draw at Old Trafford last monthshortly before Jose Mourinho was sacked from his United boss position.
Since then, Solskjaer has overseen seven wins out of seven and reduced the eight-point gap on the Gunners in the first four race.
Mourinho lost his job after a 3-1 defeat at Liverpool. His style and philosophy have been widely criticized by United supporters.
But Emery thinks Arsenal will face a very different team when he meets for a spot in the fifth round. Solskjaer's approach seems to refresh his players.
"It's a different team," he said.
"They are the same players but they are playing with great performance now, I was watching their last games and every player has a lot of self-confidence, with great performances, and now they are very dangerous.
"For us, it's good because it's a very big test for us in this competition."
Arsenal's preparation for the week included a paintball trip to strengthen the team, but the club had a few difficult days.
It was announced Monday that the head of recruitment, Sven Mislintat, would leave next month after being in Arsenal for a little over a year.
A day later, it was confirmed that Hector Bellerin could miss up to nine months after being injured in knee ligaments during the 2-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.
Emery was questioned on both issues and said Arsenal should take his time appointing a successor to Mislintat, with Rome's football director Monchi being linked to a similar role in North London.
When asked if it was important to quickly find a replacement for Mislintat, Emery replied, "Maybe if you do this recruiting very quickly, you may be able to make a mistake."
"I think it's better to do without that, to be calm and to find the best person to do this job as you wish.
"I think the club is working on it. It's not my problem. I can say the same thing: if the club decided to appoint a sports director, I would agree with them. "
Bellerin will undergo surgery following a knee injury and could miss the start of next season considering the severity of the knee injuries.
"We were sad and we are sad now after his injury," added Emery.
"I think this year is very difficult for big injuries like Hector, Rob Holding and (Danny) Welbeck. But football is like that. We have to treat these injuries as normal in football, but we are very sad for that.
"Hector Bellerin is very mature and I think that he has received this injury as a football professional can stand him and he is already preparing to come back stronger than before."
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