Artem Dzyuba, once a part of Spartak, offered new insights to a journalist about why Unai Emery never truly rooted himself in the red‑whites camp. The veteran forward spoke candidly about the coaching relationship and the challenges that followed Emery’s departure, painting a clearer picture of what happened behind the scenes.
“What clicked for me came into view the moment Emery left Spartak. Then came the text he sent to McGeady, the words plain as day: ‘Fuck it’. A normal coach doesn’t send that kind of message to a player. What stands out in McGeady’s reply, ‘Fuck it. go’, is that it reflected a shared, stubborn resolve rather than a sign of professional respect. That message never reached me directly”, Dzyuba explained in the interview. The anecdote underscores a friction that wasn’t isolated to one individual but reflected broader tensions within the squad at the time.
The sense was that Emery didn’t fully connect with the team, and Dzyuba didn’t frame this as a personal flaw of his own. There were foreign players in the mix as well, complicating dynamics on and off the pitch. Dzyuba insisted there was no setup involving journalists and denied the idea that he ever used such a slogan about the coach as part of any calculated scheme. His account remains a reminder of how fragile harmony can be in a high‑pressure environment and how quickly misreads can become misperceptions when emotions run high.
Emery departed Villarreal last October to take charge at Aston Villa, a move that reshaped the coaching landscape for several clubs. His earlier tenure at Spartak lasted from June to November 2012, a period that many still reference when discussing his approach to team culture and leadership under intense scrutiny.
On February 8, Dzyuba signed a contract with Lokomotiv that runs through the end of the season. He entered the 2022/23 campaign after a stint with Adana Demirspor in Turkey, where his contract was terminated a few months into the season, leaving him as a free agent and available to pursue new opportunities in European football.
The first official appearance for Lokomotiv came in a Russian Cup clash against Spartak, where Dzyuba played the full 90 minutes. He did not find the back of the net in that match, but the game carried significance as a test of his adaptation to a new club and system, along with the deeper question of how he would contribute to Lokomotiv’s forward line amid competition for minutes.
Looking back, Dzyuba described the move as a source of pride—an athlete who values his roots and his development through Spartak’s academy. That sense of belonging to a club that helped forge his career remains a defining thread in his wider football journey, even as he pursues success with Lokomotiv and writes new chapters in his professional story.