Unai Emery: Adios

[Football Manager]

If this is winning, then Wenger was playing good football and winning, we can do both.

Wenger play good football and winning when he had a squad of invincible and then Hleb, Fabregas, rosicky, Van persie, Nasri, Arshavin, cazorla.

But he also played some extremely ugly football when he had giroud, Walcott, podolski, chamberlain, ramsey.

It is wenger fault to play boring football because these are players that he bought.

Given that emery has given a squad that’s not with a lot of flair and not technical. You can’t blame emery because these are not the players he choose to have.

Imagine if you have a squad of walcott kyut milner ramsey gerrard lampard chamberlain... and ask them to play beautiful football. It will never worked. If you’ve got this bunch, you can only play the most ugly and boring football in the world. You can’t just force them to play like Hleb, Van persie, Fabregas, cazorla, iniesta, Ronaldinho, modric, Silva, Suarez....It’s just impossible.

Am I frustrated that we are not playing good football? Yes of course. But it’s not emery’s fault to blame. We need a few transfer window to fix that.

 

[Makingtrax]

Still people trying to find reasons for improvements over Wenger. Emery might get top 4 and maybe a cup. Just what Wenger did for years.

There are small differences that’s all. We may not have lost 8-2 to United but we lost 5-1 to Liverpool, we’re still not brilliant away and we still lost to some poor teams like BATE, Southampton.

Emery has tried to tighten the reins and so lost a bit of the flair maybe, but its been there at times.

Wenger was excellent for his funding and Emery too. Any real progress is going to come from the transfer team side. Let’s see what happens there in the summer.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

1 goal conceded in 7 games, considering how we were shipping goals as if we were still the same team as the last few years just a matter of a couple of months ago, it's quite remarkable how we've became as solid as we have. Tho not perfect and still conceding some chances, our new found resilience and not being the soft team who'd just gift teams goals is quite refreshing. It was so tiring watching every season of the last 3/4 and still seeing the exact same mistakes and defensive shortcomings. Even without us hopefully getting back in the CL/winning the EL it's so refreshing to see that change above all else. While our mentality seems to be changing too.

 

[FluffyDoozi]

Still people trying to find reasons for improvements over Wenger. Emery might get top 4 and maybe a cup. Just what Wenger did for years.

There are small differences that’s all. We may not have lost 8-2 to United but we lost 5-1 to Liverpool, we’re still not brilliant away and we still lost to some poor teams like BATE, Southampton.

Emery has tried to tighten the reins and so lost a bit of the flair maybe, but its been there at times.

Wenger was excellent for his funding and Emery too. Any real progress is going to come from the transfer team side. Let’s see what happens there in the summer.

Why do people even bring up Wenger's top four finishes as achievements? The landscape is totally different in 2019. For the first 8/9 years, we were the best/second team in the league by far. Bolton and A.Villa were closer to the top four than Sp**s FFS. Finishing outside top four would have been fireable.

Up until 4 years ago, we were the fourth best team finishing 3rd/4th. When our rivals upped their game by spending more and hiring better managers, Wenger failed to finish fourth.
We could end up with 74 points and fail to make it in the top 4 which would have been inconceivable a few years back.

Top four has never been more competitive so comparing it with 4-5 years ago is not fair. If Emery gets it this season along with the Europa, it will be our best individual season since 2008/9.

 

[Makingtrax]

Why do people even bring up Wenger's top four finishes as achievements? The landscape is totally different in 2019. For the first 8/9 years, we were the best/second team in the league by far. Bolton and A.Villa were closer to the top four than Sp**s FFS. Finishing outside top four would have been fireable.

Up until 4 years ago, we were the fourth best team finishing 3rd/4th. When our rivals upped their game by spending more and hiring better managers, Wenger failed to finish fourth.
We could end up with 74 points and fail to make it in the top 4 which would have been inconceivable a few years back.

Top four has never been more competitive so comparing it with 4-5 years ago is not fair. If Emery gets it this season along with the Europa, it will be our best individual season since 2008/9.

Ah, landscape is totally different narrative.

Some time ago using transfermarkt, I showed that our spending between 2004 and 2012 was less than Stoke.

Wenger continually got top 4 while Stoke spent two years in the Championship and mid table Prem at best. Those years were an order of magnitude more difficult for Arsenal than now, with at least 12 teams outspending Arsenal and United, Chelsea and City in full spending mode.

There are no easy periods in the Prem. Wenger was a top manager. Emery is doing well too, but that narrative has no wings.

 

[Hexagon9]

Some interesting comments regarding our style/perceived lack of it.

To me it’s laudable in many ways that certain sets of fans aren’t happy with just winning, they demand entertainment too. However, there’s a big difference between fans of clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United being vocally disgruntled after a dull 1-0 win and us. They have been used to winning/seriously challenging for the two major competitions in fairly recent times but we haven’t. Of course, financial resources are a major contributory factor but given that ours are restricted, I’d be more than happy to see us revert to a more functional style for a few seasons if it led to us actually winning or even just competing for the league again.

 

[Football Manager]

Some interesting comments regarding our style/perceived lack of it.

To me it’s laudable in many ways that certain sets of fans aren’t happy with just winning, they demand entertainment too. However, there’s a big difference between fans of clubs such as Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United being vocally disgruntled after a dull 1-0 win and us. They have been used to winning/seriously challenging for the two major competitions in fairly recent times but we haven’t. Of course, financial resources are a major contributory factor but given that ours are restricted, I’d be more than happy to see us revert to a more functional style for a few seasons if it led to us actually winning or even just competing for the league again.

So entertaining football is not functional?

 

[Hexagon9]

Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn’t. The very best sides perhaps have the luxury of achieving both.

I’m drawn back to thinking of Newcastle under Kevin Keegan. Generally provided good entertainment by virtue of playing exciting, open and attacking football, but weren’t (positively) functional in terms of winning anything........and never were going to be.

 

[Dj_sds -]

Still people trying to find reasons for improvements over Wenger. Emery might get top 4 and maybe a cup. Just what Wenger did for years.

There are small differences that’s all. We may not have lost 8-2 to United but we lost 5-1 to Liverpool, we’re still not brilliant away and we still lost to some poor teams like BATE, Southampton.

Emery has tried to tighten the reins and so lost a bit of the flair maybe, but its been there at times.

Wenger was excellent for his funding and Emery too. Any real progress is going to come from the transfer team side. Let’s see what happens there in the summer.

Your bias is unrivaled, this cant be healthy.

 

[Makingtrax]

Your bias is unrivaled, this cant be healthy.

It’s just like Brexit. Leavers can’t believe their reasons for leaving the EU are based on propaganda. You point out facts and they just dismiss them.

 

[Dennis_Bergkamp_10]

I know he needs to rotate but this result is on Emery and Mustafi. He can't account for ****ing Shkodran but I hope he won't put him in the team again.

 

[Wrighty4eva]

Ice skating uphill again Mr. Emery, what a sight.

 

[Notorious Big]

At least,he know which players won't play for Arsenal next season.

Wenger left us with lot of dross there.

 

[say yes]

At fault today with that horrendous lineup.

I understand the need to rotate but he started far too many liabilities today.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

Yeah bad line up today he take 50% of the blame today 50% mustafi.

 

[Aevi]

His tactical style can be pretty dead to watch. A back five with an Elneny/Guendouzi midfield? Come on.

 

[say yes]

His tactical style can be pretty dead to watch. A back five with an Elneny/Guendouzi midfield? Come on.

It was a back 3 with wingbacks providing width tbf. Not necessarily defensive, it’s pretty much the only formation you can start all of Laca/Auba/Özil central with.

Problem was the lack of quality much more than the system.

 

[Yousif Arsenal]

I would have liked he go with either mkhi or Iwobi in midfield today instead of matteo and Elneny.

 

[blaze_of_glory]

Limited options but still has to be better than that. Elneny and Guendouzi partnership should have been identified as a non-starter after the last game. Also the constant overlaps have got to be toned down. It's a useful tactic but it can't be the first choice play like it seems the players have been instructed to make it. We set up looking to create them too much, and Crystal Palace had it read pretty much all night.

 

[Sniper Mik]

Limited options but still has to be better than that. Also the constant overlaps have got to be toned down. It's a useful tactic but it can't be the first choice play like it seems the players have been instructed to make it. We set up looking to create them too much, and Crystal Palace had it read pretty much all night.

Yeah this became a problem during our bad run in December as well. When we panic that tactic seems to become our comfort option.