Unai Emery: Adios

[yorch44]

If Özil isn't even making the bench, then there is a reason for it. Do not let Ozils PR machine fool you.

Side with the manager. The fact he is trying to get rid of probably the last pure number 10 in modern football who is eating up a massive part of our wage bill, while being an inconsistent performer for years is a good thing.

In order to move forward, we need to get rid of certain players ingrained in the old regime. Özil is one of them.

You are going to regret this! Arsenal is becoming a shiiiity team thanks to Emery, mediocrity is the way we go.

 

[Mark Tobias]

Liverpool had their last heyday in the 1980s.

Hardly fair given they won the champions league. Overall I agree with the statement but they've had a rough ride from a fans perspective.

 

[celestis]

Hardly fair given they won the champions league. Overall I agree with the statement but they've had a rough ride from a fans perspective.

They have had higher highs and lower lows than us since since 2005 for sure . They've also had some big transfer budgets as well .

 

[Mark Tobias]

Wenger inherited Ian Wright and most of the players, and he didn't drastically chop/change. He won with what he got, plus a few additions.

Are you insinuating that Wright wasn't a top drawer player?

 

[krackpot]

Are you insinuating that Wright wasn't a top drawer player?

Never. I meant that Wenger did not marginalize him, but gave him a proper chance. Him and Bergkamp had just arrived at the club when he became manager.

Later on, he took many zany decisions, which we accepted because he had demonstrated that he could win the league with his own players.

 

[Mark Tobias]

Never. I meant that Wenger did not marginalize him, but gave him a proper chance. Him and Bergkamp had just arrived at the club when he became manager.

Later on, he took many zany decisions, which we accepted because he had demonstrated that he could win the league with his own players.

Not sure what your point is then. Özil was given a chance under Emery. He's been pathetic all season.

 

[krackpot]

Not sure what your point is then. Özil was given a chance under Emery. He's been pathetic all season.

he might be below his own standards, but was still our most creative and best outlet.

Until December he was being picked and played decently. His subsequent 'tactical' ommissions have been infuriating. especially grating because we have floundrerd without him.

 

[razörist]

Not sure what your point is then. Özil was given a chance under Emery. He's been pathetic all season.

Must have had cum in your eyes during the leicester and liverpool games before he got injured.

 

[A_G]

GFFN:
20 minutes into the game
70 minutes into the game

No surprise they're trying to find any old anti-Emery rubbish they can find because they know it will get clicks/generate conversation amongst Arsenal fans.

Ben Arfa has fallen out with someone at nearly every club he has been at, how is the lazy **** even relevant to this? Also how does one measure the confidence of Thiago Silva, a guy who is well known to bottle situations in big games? Neymar, a player who wants to be centre of attention, left Barca to get some of the limelight and is currently being outshone by Mbappe.

GFFN are a joke for anything other than transfer rumours. Last season they were having random digs at Lacazette, but now they're upset about how he's been managed by Emery.

Spot on with the rest of your post, I don't know if people are genuine when they make those comments about PSG as if dressing room dynamics at that club are the same as at Arsenal.

 

[Preacher]

Emery 1st part:

'We knew there were going to be difficulties in this process'

Plainly, Arsenal are not yet where they want to be. There have been no instant fixes to the issues which undermined them in previous years under Wenger. But Emery, enjoying a welcome opportunity to conduct an interview in his native Spanish, is adamant that they are heading in the right direction.

"The adaptation of the club and team is progressing in a positive way. In terms of getting into the Champions League and finishing in the top four, which is our main objective, it is true that we are not there right now. The competitive level is very high.

"But firstly, I believe we have time to achieve that this season. And secondly, we knew there were going to be difficulties in this process. The most important thing is to be aware that the difficulties will come, and at that moment still be able to make progress. That is the idea. The idea is to get Arsenal back to where the club deserves to be, but it needs time."

There is little patience in modern football, little appetite for a project which does not yield immediate results, but Emery insists the culture in England is unique. He has noted how Wenger was given licence to transform Arsenal in the glittering first half of his tenure. He has also seen how Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have built up Liverpool and Manchester City following difficult starts.

"After my experiences in Spain, in Russia and in France, I believe that here, people see football in a very distinct way," says Emery. "As well as the teams being more competitive and tougher, I believe the fans feel football from the heart. The question of whether you win, lose or draw is very important, but there is always a respect towards football beyond just the result.

"That means you can do a more progressive job, a job based on building from the bottom without only thinking about results, because sometimes, a result can hide solid foundations.

"As a manager, I have always put myself under the pressure of the necessity to win. You know that winning will allow you to either continue what you’re doing or to find another project. And you know that if you lose, they will take the project you already have away from you.

"But at Arsenal, it's maybe the first time I feel that I have the support to build up from the bottom in order to get where we want to be. It allows us to work more for the long-term – or at least, 'long-term' in football terms. It supports the kind of work we want to do at this club."

'We are in a transition where we are looking for a balance'

If the first half of the season is anything to go by, Emery will certainly need time to eradicate Arsenal's defensive frailties. He has not been helped by injuries, nor, perhaps, by the defensive unit his predecessor left behind, but the numbers are still alarming. Arsenal have conceded more goals after 22 Premier League games than in any of their seasons under Wenger.

"There are things we have managed to improve but there are other things that need more time, and defensive consistency is one of them,” says Emery. "We still have a lot of work to do there."

So are the issues down to personnel? Or defensive organisation?

"I think it's a bit of everything," says Emery. "When I arrived, we spoke about the Arsenal before Wenger, which was consistent in defence but didn't have much brilliance in attack. In the transition under Wenger, it was about making the most of that defensive work and adding more quality in attack, which was when Arsenal were a winning team.

But in the last few years it became different. It was a team which always had a great attack, with players who were very good technically, but with a very, very low level of defensive solidity.

"Now, we are in a transition where we are looking for a balance.

"I don’t want to lose all the good things about this team. There are times when defensively we have not been very solid, but we have still won because offensively we have created a lot of chances. So, at the moment, I am still leaning towards making sure the team doesn't lose what it has. But yes, it’s true that we have to achieve greater defensive solidity."

'You have to provoke friction with footballers'

Arsenal’s defence poses a considerable challenge for Emery and so too does Mesut Özil. The German was a certain starter under Wenger, his status reflected by the lucrative new contract he signed in February, but he has featured sporadically this season. His absence from Arsenal’s squad against West Ham added to a growing sense of uncertainty surrounding his future.

Aaron Ramsey has also lost his starting spot since the decision was made to withdraw his new contract offer in September, allowing him to leave on a free transfer at the end of the season, and Emery’s willingness to shake things up does not stop there. His team selections have been unpredictable right across the squad. Half-time substitutions have become regular occurrences.

His boldness has been rewarded at times while at others it has left supporters scratching their heads. But could there be a broader strategy at play? Emery, a keen student of psychology who even co-authored a book on the subject, Mentalidad Ganadora (Winning Mentality), during his time in charge of Valencia, clenches his fists and rubs his knuckles together.

"At certain times, you have to provoke friction with footballers," he says.

"From that friction, you can get something more out of them, something from inside, a greater sense of ambition or maybe even a complaint – a complaint regarding the team can be positive.

"As a manager, you have to be careful because that friction can break a relationship. But I believe in always looking for more, both individually and collectively, with conversations which are comfortable but also with conversations which are less comfortable.

"In the end, the main thing with any footballer is that their qualities are used to benefit the team. As a manager, you have to get the maximum out of that player and at the same time make sure that he fits with the rest of the team so that everyone is better."

It remains to be seen whether Emery will be able to strike that balance with Özil, but what's certain is that the German is not the only player being challenged by the new manager and his staff.

"We know that we have to put pressure on the players, to push them," says Emery. "So if a player is giving 70 per cent, he gives 80 per cent. Then if he is giving 80 per cent, he gives 90 per cent. There is always another step, another push. Psychology is an aspect which can help to find it."

Exclusive Sky Sports interview:
https://www.skysports.com/unaiemery

 

[Preacher]

Emery 2nd part:

You have to keep going. You cannot ever stop'

Emery speaks with the same intensity with which he stalks his technical area on matchdays. He is, by his own admission, a football obsessive. Joaquin, the former Spain international who shone under him at Valencia, once joked that he "ran out of popcorn" sitting through his video analysis sessions. This season at Arsenal, a string of players have spoken about his forensic attention to detail.

Emery's obsessive approach has brought him great success as a manager, including an historic run of three consecutive Europa League titles with Sevilla, and it is borne out of a constant search for improvement which has driven him since his playing career.

"When I was a player in the second division in Spain, my contracts were never longer than two years, so I was always required to perform, always required to do well in order to get another contract," he says. "I never called it pressure, I always called it a requirement… I have to do it. I have to win. I have to play. I have to do it well.

"Those messages were constantly in my head. So as a manager starting out with Lorca and Almeria in Spain, it was the same. And that meant dedicating a lot of time to it… I have to do it. I have to win. I have to prepare well. I have to have the best team. I have to have the best job. I have to teach the players this because this is the way to win.

"That attitude has given me a basis for my work and it has also given me the drive to always find new solutions, because football is always changing. For example, at that time, when I said I had to incorporate video into my methodology, which was something I hadn't done before, I then had to work out the best way to use it to show my players how they could improve or what they needed to do better.

"Everyone uses video now, but at that time opposition analysis was more simple. So it was a case of looking for more because of that need to win and that need to be better."

His philosophy also explains why, in 15 years as a manager, from Lorca and Almeria to Paris Saint-Germain and now Arsenal, Emery has never had more than a couple of months off between jobs.

"You have to keep going," he says. "You cannot ever stop. The most important thing for me, I believe, is that I have never stopped coaching. I also have people around me who push me and I still have the capacity to bring great energy to the job. But my secret is nothing more than to work hard."

'Every player is a person before they are a footballer'

"I have a good understanding with them, but as a manager it is important to understand that every player is a person before they are a footballer. That is the same whether it’s Neymar, who I coached at PSG, or whether it’s any one of the players I had at Lorca. What I do is I try to interact with them on a personal level as a means of setting out my objectives and my expectations."

After that, he says, it is down to the players to take a share of the responsibility for themselves.

"I always say that a footballer only has this profession for 10, 12 or 15 years. To get the maximum out of your career – which is what we want as well – you have to love your job. You have to feel it, and you have to dedicate time to it – all the time you possibly can."

That is the mentality Emery demands from his players and it is the same mentality with which he is approaching the challenge at Arsenal. Can he shape this team in his image? Can he build the club up for the future while ensuring they do not suffer too much in the short-term? It is eight months since his appointment, eight months since Arsenal took their first steps into the unknown, but the hard work has only just begun.

Emery’s constant drive for improvement applies as much to individual players as it does to himself. His recent admission that Arsenal could not make any permanent signings in January provoked immediate anger among supporters, but it was delivered with the matter-of-factness of a manager who has other priorities. Emery's obsession is not in transfers but in getting the best out of the players he has already got.

That's certainly how he worked at Valencia and Sevilla, where key players were repeatedly sold off for financial profit, and it has contributed to an impressive track record for development. Emery counts Juan Mata, Jordi Alba, David Silva and Ivan Rakitic among the players he has helped to improve. His PSG tenure was not without difficulties but Kylian Mbappe has been complimentary of his influence there.

"The most satisfying thing about being a manager, I believe, is when you are able to improve a player's performances," says Emery. "There is always a risk that by giving more attention to one player you diminish another, but my biggest satisfaction, as well as collective performances, winning and achieving things, is that players, on an individual level, end up progressing and taking steps forward."

It is what he is now striving for at Arsenal.

"These players have a tremendous desire to work, listen and learn," he says.

Exclusive Sky Sports interview:
https://www.skysports.com/unaiemery

 

[celestis]

Are you insinuating that Wright wasn't a top drawer player?

Wrighty was on his way out under Rioch and handed in a transfer request .

 

[Furious.]

You serious?

Put yourself in Mesut's situation, playing and training all week, and not make the team for no comprehensible reason?

Put yourself in Emery's position. Özil is extracting £350k per week and performs inconsistently. What do you do? Plough another £40 million into a player who you can't rely on or fit into your system, or try to get ambitious younger players in to rebuild with? Tough decisions facing Emery with a limited budget.

 

[Sniper Mik]

Put yourself in Emery's position. Özil is extracting £350 k per week and performs inconsistently. What do you do? Plough another £40 million into a player who you can't rely on or fit into you system, or try to get ambitious younger players in to rebuild with? Tough decisions facing Emery with a limited budget.

Am I having a stroke or did you just contradict yourself?

 

[Furious.]

I think he should work harder to find a way to fit Auba/Laca/Özil into the same team, but I don't think he has some grudge against Özil

Problem is, Özil is on more than PEA and Laca combined, and they offer more on the pitch than him. Sure, Özil adds to the Arsenal brand, but I'm not seeing much evidence that Emery is able to access the resulting funds.

 

[say yes]

Brilliant interview, thanks for sharing @Preacher .

Think his critics would do well to read it, particularly the first part.

 

[Furious.]

Am I having a stroke or did you just contradict yourself?

It certainly isn't the latter so.....best get to a doctor.

 

[Makingtrax]

Emery 2nd part:

Exclusive Sky Sports interview:
https://www.skysports.com/unaiemery

Excellent read. See nothing yet with Emery that suggests we should be berating him.

 

[Vinci]

This season was always going to be a write-off, a transition period. Sacking him now or at the end of the season would be ridiculous.

It is frustrating that he hasn't figured out the bext XI yet, though, and get the most out of our best players, but the squad is quite unbalanced and as ever there has been too many injuries.

 

[Rimaal]

Starting to think we actually should sack him.

Ha!
I've been saying the same thing. Özil's treatment is bounce back from Neymar. It seems blatantly obvious to me.

Pundits call his treatment of Özil brave, I see it as a sign of weakness and a lack of confidence in his ability to stamp his authority on the squad.

Frankly, I think what we're seeing on the pitch is the squad reacting.