Unai Emery: Adios

[Iceman10]

We are in top 4 after 7 games, Laca out, Pepe hasn’t hit any kind of form yet, we are blooding youngsters, we’ve got 3 of our main defenders just returning from injury! Why the doom & gloom all the time? Pretty football doesn’t always win games, lets see where we are come May

50% of it has become Özil. 50% is on style of play, tactics, subs, etc. I keep repeating the point that the conflation in of Özil with a pile-on on Emery is not right based on most fans being nasty or not really caring much about Özil last season (and into the summer), but fact is I am now seeing comments where Özil is the first point brought up when people are bringing up their issues with Emery. I see patterns that some of the most angry comments against Emery are from the very few who still believed in Özil in the summer, with actually myself as the exception, because I was one of a few who had a relatively neutral view of Özil at that point (the vast majority at A-M had far worse views of him than that).

Would also say there are some fans who are saying they would gladly take Wenger back right now but are among those who hounded Wenger out of the club. I'm going to be attacked for this, but I will say it. A large problem at Arsenal happens to reside with a section of our fans. Thankfully, there is some distance between anarchistic tendencies and upper management of the club, i.e. Raul/Edu/Vinai.

 

[Ash10]

Wenger played Wengerball and this bum plays Hope&prayball as without Aubameyang aka the best striker in the league we would be fighting against the relegation fodders but just because he got away with horrendous selection, tactical approach & in game management we have to give him a pass.
Such great logic that is

 

[Makingtrax]

I never said he would turn it around and said in a later post once you accept he is a care taker life suddenly becomes easier. We havent regressed the way United did post Ferguson, there is an argument we improved marginally and so far this season out of the other six we are third, and overall 4th in the league.

Aubameyang isnt injured. So less of the if your granny had balls arguments. He is fit and doing what he is paid well to do. More players will return and the expectation is surely when they return things will get better not worse. And failing that accept Emery will go and that he is only here for the post Wenger transition which is nearly over. Weve rebuilt behind the scenes and nearly rebuilt the Xi.

Agree with all that, except we haven’t rebuilt the XI.

We’ve still got Xhaka and Sokratis doing rash stuff and now we’added to the problem with a Luiz. The heart of the defence is still a mess. When the chips are down, they’ll let you down.

This squad is still 3 or 4 solid players away from a decent top 4 side that can hold off lower teams. And the lower teams are getting better.

 

[Mitch]

It really does show what trash Emery started with:

A past it Cech retired
A past it Kos moved on
Underperformers such as Mkhi and Ramsey moved on.
Underpeformers in Mustafi, Bellerin and Özil dropped from the first team.

I' d like to see Emery drop Xhaka and Luiz.

Getting rid of of the trash and promoting our talented young players in Saka, Gunedouzi, Holding, Chambers, AMN and Willock should be the aim.

 

[Camron]

Just for the sake of fun, let's see how many points we would have without Auba

1 p against Newcastle
1 p against Burnley
0 p against Liverpool
0 p against Tottenham
0 p against Watford
1 p against A Villa
0 p Against Man United

This joker of a coach can thank Aubermeyang for still having a job.
Sack him before it's too late

How many goals conceded if we didn't have Leno?

 

[Jury]

Just for the sake of fun, let's see how many points we would have without Auba

1 p against Newcastle
1 p against Burnley
0 p against Liverpool
0 p against Tottenham
0 p against Watford
1 p against A Villa
0 p Against Man United

This joker of a coach can thank Aubermeyang for still having a job.
Sack him before it's too late

Now go and do the same for Henry over any particular 7 game stretch back then, and let me know what you find. Actually, don't bother, because your post is a pile of steaming bollocks lad

 

[krengon]

There are plenty of valid criticism against Emery, Auba bailing us out is not one of them..

 

[goonergaz]

It really does show what trash Emery started with:

A past it Cech retired
A past it Kos moved on
Underperformers such as Mkhi and Ramsey moved on.
Underpeformers in Mustafi, Bellerin and Özil dropped from the first team.

Getting rid of of the trash and promoting are talented young players in Saka, Gunedouzi, Holding, Chambers, AMN and Willock should be the aim.

Yep, probably being a bit harsh of Bellerin although his performances had dropped...I also thought Ramsey (whilst good at times) was not all people made him out to be, but then look at his competition in midfield!!

 

[krengon]

The top 4 stuff is meaningless at this stage too, while our results aren't too bad, they aren't great either.

Newcastle(a)
Burnley(h)
Liverpool(a)
Sp**s(h)
Watford(a)
Aston Villa(h)
Manu(a)

12/21 points from that is on the lower end of acceptable results. Bigger worry is the level of our performances, if that doesn't improve we are in trouble..

 

[drippin]

This place is infested with grown men crying. Pretty horrendous to read when there is no logic at all, just feelings barfed out.

I'm out of this topic for a while, but will come reminding once in a while how Emery will likely continue next year too.

 

[Iceman10]

There are plenty of valid criticism against Emery, Auba bailing us out is not one of them..

How would we do without Auba and Leno could have been asked about Arsenal without Cesc in the past, maybe even RvP for a period. I didn't back then because those were days when we were in a psyche of limited finances after the stadium move (which in retrospect was due to the board being way too conservative with their approach).

There are many pundits who go on about the state of the United first team in part because they were teammates of Solksjaer, and are protective of him. Fact is our first team is not that great either, especially with players still to come in for our backline, although we do have things to look forward to with development of Saka, Willock, and a few others.

 

[Fallout]

His first season was acceptable objectively, but he's facing several issues.

#1: Overall trend in performances and results is going down.
He had a hot start in his first season, but things soured at the midpoint, culminating in a catastrophic ending that saw us achieve none of our objectives. This season looks to be a continuation of the last with no sign of abating.

#2 Unconventional team selections.
He's taken a liking to weird formations that have ultimately backfired (41212 this season and 5212 last), and when he uses conventional formations, his choice of personnel is difficult to comprehend. Furthermore, he's shown a blind persistence to those choices.

#3 Small-club, ultra-defensive mentality.
He does not embody Arsenal's culture. I acknowledge that we need a balance between attack and defense, but nowadays we give up far too much territory and show far too much respect to mediocre opponents. Not only has this backfired in terms of goals conceded and shots allowed, but also we are no longer interesting to watch, which dents our appeal to both new players and new supporters.

I feel Emery has to fix #1 and either #2 or #3 for me to get behind him again. The only positive about him is he plays youth, but I'm suspicious about whether this is actually his decision or a mandate from the higher-ups.

 

[darkgunner]

If Emery gets us solidly cemented in the the top 4 throughout this season and gives good gametime to our best youngsters like Saka, Guendouzi, Willock, ESR and Martinelli, then I'd say he's done a good job.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to find a better manager for next season if one is available, but I wouldn't be opposed to giving him a short term extension of 1-2 years if he does the above.

 

[lamby22]

3 dms is a pisstake and the football is horrible. Hes playing safe to keep his job.

Underdog FC. That's how he sets us up - like we are the underdog. It boils my piss.

We could have been 6 points better off this season if he had set the team up better and been more adventurous. Sp**s and Man Utd were there for the taking and we blew it at Watford.

 

[Jury]

I'm in between 'Meh' and the option under it. Need to see improvement in how we control games. I expected to see more by now, but I'm willing to wait for our fullbacks to hit the ground and see if things fall into place then. We're not probing with the ball and we don't attack in waves. We're still too easily got at and look vulnerable to anyone who decides to use a bit of initiative.
If worse comes to worst, we have some really good players for the next manager, but I still think there's more to come from Emery.

 

[Debre-Zeyit]

Özil and Emery is the reason I can't back him. if he thinks Özil is not good enough then put him on the bench he's a creative player on his day.

 

[goonergaz]

His first season was acceptable objectively, but he's facing several issues.

#1: Overall trend in performances and results is going down.
He had a hot start in his first season, but things soured at the midpoint, culminating in a catastrophic ending that saw us achieve none of our objectives. This season looks to be a continuation of the last with no sign of abating.

#2 Unconventional team selections.
He's taken a liking to weird formations that have ultimately backfired (41212 this season and 5212 last), and when he uses conventional formations, his choice of personnel is difficult to comprehend. Furthermore, he's shown a blind persistence to those choices.

#3 Small-club, ultra-defensive mentality.
He does not embody Arsenal's culture. I acknowledge that we need a balance between attack and defense, but nowadays we give up far too much territory and show far too much respect to mediocre opponents. Not only has this backfired in terms of goals conceded and shots allowed, but also we are no longer interesting to watch, which dents our appeal to both new players and new supporters.

I feel Emery has to fix #1 and either #2 or #3 for me to get behind him again. The only positive about him is he plays youth, but I'm suspicious about whether this is actually his decision or a mandate from the higher-ups.

Can't disagree...something I wanted to mention in my OP was the shots against stat. I think it's a bit of a red herring...I mean, a lot of the shots are just wild or never going to trouble Leno yet it counts. It's like many stats, they can be twisted to present whatever you want to say.

 

[LG10]

Our defence is as bad as its always been and our attack is worse. Not sure what else there is to say, the team has improved player wise but we still haven't seen improvements.

He should get the season though, if Pepe finds his feet and the returning full backs stay fit for most of the season then we should get top 4.

 

[Garrincha]

Its on him to win a new contract from the club. Us fans really have **** all to do with it.

I have sympathy for Emery as the club decided to sign injured players, the main CB signing was loaned out & 5000+ senior minutes sold from the attack very end of the window... I doubt many managers would opt for that with 12 months on deal.

 

[goonergaz]

If Emery gets us solidly cemented in the the top 4 throughout this season and gives good gametime to our best youngsters like Saka, Guendouzi, Willock, ESR and Martinelli, then I'd say he's done a good job.

Doesn't mean we shouldn't try to find a better manager for next season if one is available, but I wouldn't be opposed to giving him a short term extension of 1-2 years if he does the above.

If he get's us in the c/l then he can't be sacked and surely it'll mean something is beginning to work?

I'm in between 'Meh' and the option under it. Need to see improvement in how we control games. I expected to see more by now, but I'm willing to wait for our fullbacks to hit the ground and see if things fall into place then. We're not probing with the ball and we don't attack in waves. We're still too easily got at and look vulnerable to anyone who decides to use a bit of initiative.
If worse comes to worst, we have some really good players for the next manager, but I still think there's more to come from Emery.

Yes, we definitely have a good foundation...I'm hopeful the fullbacks will make a difference too.

Özil and Emery is the reason I can't back him. if he thinks Özil is not good enough then put him on the bench he's a creative player on his day.

It's an odd one...there is an arguement against having such a player on the bench, but if nothing more it gives you a potential key to unlock and may have worked yesterday.