Tottenham Hotspur winger Lucas Moura admits he had the “worst seven months” of his life playing for Unai Emery and believes he is now proving to his former manager that he can be a key player at a top club.
Moura, 26, had been at Paris Saint-Germain for two-and-a-half years before Emery, now Arsenal manager, joined the French club and while he played in the first of the Spaniard’s two seasons he was ostracised in the second, before escaping in a £25million transfer to Spurs.
The Brazilian claims that, despite winning several major trophies during his time in Paris, when he fell out of favour with Emery he would sometimes not even be included in first-team training, forcing him to return home.
Gift of life
“It was very hard, the worst seven months of my life,” he told ESPN Brazil. “I came from a very good season, I was second top scorer of the team, only behind [Edinson] Cavani.
“The following season, I wasn’t even called up. I used to go to practice, I wasn’t even in the game. I used to go back home. Anyway, it was very difficult. But I kept working hard, strong. And God gave me the best gift of life, my son.”
Moura will play against an Emery side for the first time since that harrowing experience when Spurs take on Arsenal on Sunday in the north London derby. He believes that such a heated meeting with much to play for is an opportunity for him to prove to his former boss that he was wrong to drop him. Fifth-place Arsenal are three points behind Tottenham, who are third, presenting Mauricio Pochettino’s side the opportunity to pull well clear of their rivals at the Emirates Stadium.
Proving Emery wrong
“I try to show it, him, at Spurs,” Moura told UK reporters. “To enjoy the life because I love to play football. I forget the last five or six months that I had at PSG. And I like to think about the four years when I was very happy there and I won a lot of trophies. The last year was to learn and to grow up. Now I think I am a player more experienced and more strong.”
To this day, Moura claims to have no idea why he was shunned by Emery, why he was made to endure the toughest spell of his career, during which the birth of his son was his only salvation. Yet while wanting to remain respectful of Arsenal’s manager, it is clearly a period of his career which he was frustrated by and is keen to forget.
“Sometimes it happens,” he said. “It’s something we cannot explain – why it happens. I cannot explain to you. I don’t know why. But now I am happy here. I did five years at PSG in which I won a lot of trophies, I was very happy there and now I think it’s a new chapter in my life, a new challenge. The most important thing is that I am happy here.
“I need to respect the decision of the coach [Emery]. I know that it’s difficult for him because he needs to choose 11 players to play. I don’t like to look behind. I like to look forward to what I can do, what I can win. I have nothing against Unai, I respect him, he is a very good coach.
Spurs can win the Premier League
“[Now] I am in a big club and I play with big players. I am so happy here. I really believe in this club. I really believe that we can win the Premier League, we can win trophies this season. I am here to help and to make history. We need to work and to believe always.
“I am learning a lot of things for my life and for my history to play here. It’s a very good experience and, like I said, the most important is that I am happy with my new club, with my teammates. I can enjoy the football. I play against big clubs, I play Champions League so I don’t have nothing to complain about. I just need to enjoy it.”
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