Unai Emery: Adios

[CaseUteinberger]

Not sure if it makes a ton of sense to compare Wenger and Emery. I was in the Wenger out camp. But I don't like what feels close to badmouthing a true legend of our club and of English football. Let's be happy with our new coach, who I for one think is moving the club and team in the right direction, while being proud of what Wenger achieved. How about we all agree on both! Win win!

 

[Jury]

Not sure if it makes a ton of sense to compare Wenger and Emery. I was in the Wenger out camp. But I don't like what feels close to badmouthing a true legend of our club and of English football. Let's be happy with our new coach, who I for one think is moving the club and team in the right direction, while being proud of what Wenger achieved. How about we all agree on both! Win win!

Most are not bothering to look back. Whenever I start feeling nostalgic, I think of the pathetic shambles we were at times and excruciatingly embarrassing capitulations we experienced towards the end, and I'm much happier. That's gone now. As a club, we can look ourselves in the mirror after playing our rivals. That means a lot.

 

[Jae]

Yeah but honestly Wenger could also have done same this season as Emery has done.

Come off it mate. I love Wenger as much as anyone, but he was finished - and most sensible people would agree with me. He'd taken this current team as far as he possibly could. Not a chance we'd be where we are this season with Wenger at the helm.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

Great to read how Emery in March is doing better than Wenger the last decade. Where people said a few months ago he couldn't cut it and was a bad manager with bad tactics. How things can change over a few results.

 

[berric]

Let's not look back but look forward.

Arsène is a legend and if Emery does 1/4 of AWs achievments for the next couple of years it will be a joy to behold. No worth comparing those two, just be happy that we had one of the all-time greats at the helm and give time and support to the one that came after.

 

[Mark Tobias]

Great to read how Emery in March is doing better than Wenger the last decade. Where people said a few months ago he couldn't cut it and was a bad manager with bad tactics. How things can change over a few results.

The AM flipflop

 

[Camron]

Come off it mate. I love Wenger as much as anyone, but he was finished - and most sensible people would agree with me. He'd taken this current team as far as he possibly could. Not a chance we'd be where we are this season with Wenger at the helm.

Anyone still taking this guy serious?

 

[L3T5 PL4Y]

Just a few games ago was pretty annoyed with 3 at the back but now it looks like our best set up. It was mostly the injuries that screwed things up.

One thing you have to 100% certain with Emery at this point is tactically he is pretty damn good at setting up against top opposition. Its difficult to point fingers at him for the lost points against big teams.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Come off it mate. I love Wenger as much as anyone, but he was finished - and most sensible people would agree with me. He'd taken this current team as far as he possibly could. Not a chance we'd be where we are this season with Wenger at the helm.

The point I'm trying to make is, is that getting top4 is hardly any progress. In last 20 years we belong in top4. It's just back on square one for us. The real progress we need to make is getting competitive for the title in the premier league. And that remains yet to be seen if Emery can get us there.

 

[progman07]

Its amazing how we've gone from having a great squad that was being held back by Wenger to an awful or mediocre squad that the new manager is somehow working miracles with.

The truth is always inbetween, but there is an important difference, that is Wenger had a full squad of his own choice, he was the one that destructed an inbalanced but capable squad (with full of terrible backups, but a quality first 11 that could beat Barcelona on its day) to the level we are at now.

 

[GoonerJay24]

Wenger didn't achieve that in last two seasons.Squad problem or manager problem ?

Media and AFTV have to be factored in.

Overall though, Cazorla was not adequately replaced and the away form was at an all-time low.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

Stop talking bollocks please mate. It's 2019, not 1998.

 

[GoonerJay24]

The way I see it, we haven't had a good squad for 11 years (2008 vintage) and even that was questionable because of Almunia and the likes of Eboue/Diaby out wide.

Lets be real, we constantly complained back then about the lack of quality in the side.

Almunia in goal. Song/Denilson in midfield. Chamakh as RVP's back up. Theo blowing warm and cold. Squillaci, Silvestre, Santos, Eboue as our back up RB (thank the lord Sagna was usually fit as a fiddle). Rosicky who only bothered to turn up 3 or 4 times a year after he came back. Arshavin who stopped trying after one season.

Our expectations were ridiculously high when you look at what that squad was. Wenger did amazing to get that lot into the top 4 and don't let anyone fool you into thinking it was a cake walk either.

Chelsea and United were at their best, Liverpool under Benitez weren't slouches and as much as I hate to say it Sp**s under Redknapp with Bale and Modric weren't mugs either. City had just started rolling as well. Even the midtable sides were better. Newcastle, Villa under Martin O'Neil and Moyes' Everton side.

Even the side that lost to Leicester wasn't very good. I was tearing my hair out over the fact that we didn't buy anyone besides Cech. Who I thought was well past it as well. Cech in goal, Giroud up front, Coquelin in midfield backed up by two geriatrics. Sanogo and Debuchy as back ups. Mertesacker who admitted he lost his motivation for football.

We should have won the league that year, not those players but Arsenal FC should have won it, if we had done what we were supposed to do and brought in players.

We truly bottled it that season no doubt, wasted opportunity.

 

[Jae]

The point I'm trying to make is, is that getting top4 is hardly any progress. In last 20 years we belong in top4. It's just back on square one for us. The real progress we need to make is getting competitive for the title in the premier league.

But you don't really have a point buddy.

It's this kind of complacency that's landed us in the position we're in currently. Everyone else improved and we stayed exactly the same because "We are Arsenal and we belong in the top 4". Utter arrogance in my opinion.

We don't "belong" anywhere mate, we get what we deserve based on how we've performed over the course of the season, which in truth has been dreadfully over the past few years save a couple of runs in the FA Cup.

You can't compare "the last 20 years" like it's all the same. The league has changed fundamentally, even in the last 5 years. It's the most competitive it's ever been. It's gone from a Top 2 (us and United) to a "Big 6" and unfortunately under Wenger we were the well documented whipping boys of the top clubs.

If you think we haven't progressed under Emery this year then I don't know what to say.

 

[Beksl]

It's so funny to read how people were adamant there is no real progress under Emery even though it can be seen on so many levels.

 

[Hexagon9]

But you don't really have a point buddy.

It's this kind of complacency that's landed us in the position we're in currently. Everyone else improved and we stayed exactly the same because "We are Arsenal and we belong in the top 4". Utter arrogance in my opinion.

We don't "belong" anywhere mate, we get what we deserve based on how we've performed over the course of the season, which in truth has been dreadfully over the past few years save a couple of runs in the FA Cup.

You can't compare "the last 20 years" like it's all the same. The league has changed fundamentally, even in the last 5 years. It's the most competitive it's ever been. It's gone from a Top 2 (us and United) to a "Big 6" and unfortunately under Wenger we were the well documented whipping boys of the top clubs.

If you think we haven't progressed under Emery this year then I don't know what to say.

Great post. I’d also contend that until this season we weren’t even maintaining our level, we were getting worse, regardless of the other “big sides”.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

But you don't really have a point buddy.

It's this kind of complacency that's landed us in the position we're in currently. Everyone else improved and we stayed exactly the same because "We are Arsenal and we belong in the top 4". Utter arrogance in my opinion.

We don't "belong" anywhere mate, we get what we deserve based on how we've performed over the course of the season, which in truth has been dreadfully over the past few years save a couple of runs in the FA Cup.

You can't compare "the last 20 years" like it's all the same. The league has changed fundamentally, even in the last 5 years. It's the most competitive it's ever been. It's gone from a Top 2 (us and United) to a "Big 6" and unfortunately under Wenger we were the well documented whipping boys of the top clubs.

If you think we haven't progressed under Emery this year then I don't know what to say.

Just quoted this to tell you I didnt read your post after the first line.

 

[hydrofluoric acid]

It's so funny to read how people were adamant there is no real progress under Emery even though it can be seen on so many levels.

If we get CL this season it is progress compares to last season. But getting CL is hardly any progress on last 10 years.

We need longer time to see if this is heading towards us being competitive in the league or if this is just another case us getting into top4 and doing nothing with it.

 

[Jae]

Just quoted this to tell you I didnt read your post after the first line.

Standard response from you I see when you realise you haven't got a clue what you're talking about

All the very best.

 

[Beksl]

If we get CL this season it is progress compares to last season. But getting CL is hardly any progress on last 10 years.

We need longer time to see if this is heading towards us being competitive in the league or if this is just another case us getting into top4 and doing nothing with it.

I don't care about a period of 10 years because no one expect us to win the league and even though this is an ultimate goalpost it's not the only metric to deem something as a progress.

The benchmark for Emery' first year should be last couple of seasons and not only in the context of league position.