Unai Emery: Adios

[hydrofluoric acid]

Emery did everything right in this game from the starting XI, formation, tactics and subs.

True this was the perfect game and hopefully something to build on after 2 terrible months of football, or since we won against Sp**s.

But mind you, we have tactically outdone Chelsea in previous years too namely our FA Cup victory against them and they seems to be the top team we got some grip on in recent years.

Its all good and Emery gets a lot of good will from me for the game but he has to build on it! Otherwise the darkness will take over my life again.

 

[dka1]

To answer your question: Everything.

And there is a massive difference between being a team that presses and being a team that only presses.

Liverpool and all of Klopp's teams have been really good at pressing. Pep's teams also press.

Pressing is a good thing, and I like that Emery has made our team press. However, the big difference is that Emery's Arsenal only look capable of pressing.

We're not good at dominating possession, and we don't create enough scoring opportunities from midfield. At the highest level, matches are won in midfield.

Top teams today need to be able to press, counterattack with speed, and keep possession. Right now we only appear good at pressing, and Emery's desire to bench Özil shows that dominating possession and creating chances in the final third is not high on his priority list.

His tactics just aren't good enough.

We have a squad with a lot of talent and coach that doesn't really know how to use it.

I see what you're saying but I do think firstly, Emery likely doesn't believe we're good enough to dominate against the bigger teams (pure speculation based on his approach).

And whilst Pep, Klopp and Poch all tend to dominate possession, I certainly think Pochettino especially is much more physical and direct than the first two. Likewise Klopp is less dominant than Pep.

Infact when I watch Sp**s I forget just how direct they can be, albeit they play through Eriksen quite a bit, but they also utilise shooting from outside the box, physically dominating midfield (rather than with passing) and utilising the wings ala Trippier.

I'd still say Pochettino is a top manager despite not being as possession mad as Pep, and perhaps it's symptomatic of his inferior squad.

I say all of that to make the point our directness might not necessarily be a bad thing, especially when we play against the bigger teams, and you can see how much we can hurt the big teams especially at home; we just seem more capable of breaking big teams down more consistently.

I also think us dropping back defensively in the second half also accounted for the disparity in possession.

However we do need to improve our passing in midfield, we waste countless opportunities through terrible decisions and ponderous play as well as just straight out bad passes in midfield.

If we improve this, we'll be great.

 

[Jae]

Possession is overrated.

 

[Beast Incarnate]

This season, Emery has shown glimpses of what he has to offer. We have totally outplayed Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea at home. We even bossed Utd at Old Trafford, but individual mistakes let us down. I can't remember the last time we really took it to other top 6 clubs like that so consistently in a season. The only game we got totally outplayed was at Anfield.

I think before the season started, any realistic fan knew that this was a settling in season for Emery and that a top 4 battle was probably the best we could hope for.

He inherited a really unbalanced squad with some players on big wages he obviously doesn't rate. It'll take time for Emery to really get his fingerprints on the squad. I'm hoping with the new Adidas deal, he's given 100-150 mil to spend + whatever he can raise from player sales (probably a pipedream).

This season was always a write off for me personally. Emery is doing just about what I expected of him in the circumstances he inherited. I feel like some fans are being far too harsh.

 

[Preacher]

Arsenal are the only team with ZERO goals conceded from corners this season in the Premier League.

Credit to the coaching staff and the players. Our defence is struggling in the open play, but they're very good in dead ball situations.

 

[say yes]

Another great performance vs. a top club.

Most distance covered in a game since opta records began.

#NothingChanged
#EmeryOut

 

[say yes]

This season, Emery has shown glimpses of what he has to offer. We have totally outplayed Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea at home. We even bossed Utd at Old Trafford, but individual mistakes let us down. I can't remember the last time we really took it to other top 6 clubs like that so consistently in a season. The only game we got totally outplayed was at Anfield.

I think before the season started, any realistic fan knew that this was a settling in season for Emery and that a top 4 battle was probably the best we could hope for.

He inherited a really unbalanced squad with some players on big wages he obviously doesn't rate. It'll take time for Emery to really get his fingerprints on the squad. I'm hoping with the new Adidas deal, he's given 100-150 mil to spend + whatever he can raise from player sales (probably a pipedream).

This season was always a write off for me personally. Emery is doing just about what I expected of him in the circumstances he inherited. I feel like some fans are being far too harsh.

Spot on. This year actually reminds me a lot of Klopp's first season at Liverpool. Rubbish defence and very inconsistent against the smaller teams but showed what they were capable of in the bigger games: the blueprint was always there. Hopefully we progress the same way Liverpool have.

Top 4 still very much a possibility but think the Bellerin injury is about as bad as a single injury could get given our lack of cover in that position & complete reliance on width from our fullbacks.

@Makingtrax has been banging this drum for a while now but Emery has been incredibly unlucky with defensive injuries in his first season. Wonder if the increased intensity has had an impact because our injury record was actually pretty decent over the past few seasons. Backup RB clearly now a priority signing in the summer.

 

[Fallout]

It’s a football forum, generally people do nothing but.

Sometimes it’s unwarranted though. Aren’t people allowed to say that?

I'm wondering if you have any criticism(s) of the manager's performance thus far. I ask because given the way you present yourself, it sounds like you are simply taking the opposite extreme, when in reality the truth may (or may not) be more in the middle.

Obviously, he's doing well enough. I think most agree that squad cost is the best benchmark of manager performance, and therefore he's performing at par (for now).

But at the same time, I can't (and shouldn't) simply ignore a nagging feeling that he unnecessarily derailed our momentum -- and jeopardized our spot in the CL race -- by persisting with a formation that quite clearly hasn't worked (Sp**s match aside). You might argue that unknown circumstances may have dictated the switch. It seems like a weak excuse, not only because it's complete speculation, but also because circumstances usually force short-run changes (whereas this tactical shift occurred over a prolonged period of time).

 

[Makingtrax]

I'm wondering if you have any criticism(s) of the manager's performance thus far. I ask because given the way you present yourself, it sounds like you are simply taking the opposite extreme, when in reality the truth may (or may not) be more in the middle.

Obviously, he's doing well enough. I think most agree that squad cost is the best benchmark of manager performance, and therefore he's performing at par (for now).

But at the same time, I can't (and shouldn't) simply ignore a nagging feeling that he unnecessarily derailed our momentum -- and jeopardized our spot in the CL race -- by persisting with a formation that quite clearly hasn't worked (Sp**s match aside). You might argue that unknown circumstances may have dictated the switch. It seems like a weak excuse, not only because it's complete speculation, but also because circumstances usually force short-run changes (whereas this tactical shift occurred over a prolonged period of time).

That’s a bit harsh for two reasons:

1) When you see players on the pitch make poor decisions and frequent errors, it’s simple to criticise their performance even if you add,’maybe he’ll improve with coaching or with more experience’. But with a manager, you’ve no idea why they’re making those decisions. It might be things out of their control and so it becomes pure speculation.

So for example Emery gets told Torreira is in the red zone by the medical staff and will get soft tissue damage, so he needs to to play less for a while. He picks Xhaka and Guendouzi and fans say, ‘Why’s he broken that Xhaka/Torreira partnership, it was doing so well, see I told you we’d lose.’ etc etc.

2) When a new manager comes surely in his first season in a brand new league he has a license to experiment with squad members in the cauldron of competition and with formations. This is not Ligue 1 or la Liga. He needs to get the hang of what might work for him.

So saying he’s not the one for us after 20 games, particularly when he’s performing to our squad cost position, is a bit like making conclusions about a scientific experiment after only collecting a few pieces of data. It’s unreliable, unscientific and generally poor practice.

 

[A_G]

‘Why’s he broken that Xhaka/Torreira partnership, it was doing so well, see I told you we’d lose.’ etc etc.

In fairness, people said that because he stuck Xhaka in the centre of defence. That was definitely a poor decision that cost the team.

 

[Makingtrax]

In fairness, people said that because he stuck Xhaka in the centre of defence. That was definitely a poor decision that cost the team.

Did he have any CBs left?

 

[A_G]

Did he have any CBs left?

He could've played Bellerin-Koscielny-Monreal-AMN against Southampton. Not ideal, but a better solution than throwing Xhaka in an unfamiliar position.

 

[say yes]

In fairness, people said that because he stuck Xhaka in the centre of defence. That was definitely a poor decision that cost the team.

He could've played Bellerin-Koscielny-Monreal-AMN against Southampton. Not ideal, but a better solution than throwing Xhaka in an unfamiliar position.

Easy to say that it was a poor decision with hindsight but we were in the middle of a defensive crisis at the time. I actually thought that it was a completely reasonable decision and that Xhaka did well at CB, although it obviously cost us at CM.

Besides, there's no guaranteeing that the back 4 you suggested would have fared any better than Emery's approach. We were in a horrible situation and Emery picked the team he thought was best. It's not he was breaking up our first choice midfield pairing for the fun of it!

 

[Makingtrax]

He could've played Bellerin-Koscielny-Monreal-AMN against Southampton. Not ideal, but a better solution than throwing Xhaka in an unfamiliar position.

Was Monreal fit?

The point is, he was forced into something because he only had 1 CB fit. There was any number of options that he could have chosen and any that brought out a loss would have caused the usual hindsight posting.

You’ve been here longer than me, you know how it goes. People say something like, ‘What’s he doing playing AMN at fullback the muppet’. And if we win they say nothing, and if we lose, ‘See I told you’. After a few of those, he’s not the man for us.

 

[Tir Na Nog]

I'm absolutely convinced that Wenger definitely put Xhaka in at CB on at least a couple of occasions, that's before we even get to ****ing Elneny who can't head a ball properly or make a tackle.

 

[A_G]

Easy to say that it was a poor decision with hindsight but we were in the middle of a defensive crisis at the time. I actually thought that it was a completely reasonable decision and that Xhaka did well at CB, although it obviously cost us at CM.

Besides, there's no guaranteeing that the back 4 you suggested would have fared any better than Emery's approach. We were in a horrible situation and Emery picked the team he thought was best. It's not he was breaking up our first choice midfield pairing for the fun of it!

I don’t think it’s hindsight tbh, we knew that the defence would be weaker regardless with Sok/Mustafi suspended and yet Emery weakened the midfield to compound the issue.

You’re right there’s no guarantee that the back 4 I suggested would have worked better but playing experienced defenders in that position would’ve had a better chance. It wasn’t worth losing Xhaka’s influence in midfield over imo.

 

[A_G]

Was Monreal fit?

The point is, he was forced into something because he only had 1 CB fit. There was any number of options that he could have chosen and any that brought out a loss would have caused the usual hindsight posting.

You’ve been here longer than me, you know how it goes. People say something like, ‘What’s he doing playing AMN at fullback the muppet’. And if we win they say nothing, and if we lose, ‘See I told you’. After a few of those, he’s not the man for us.

Yeah, Monreal played 90 minutes in that game. Again I don’t think it’s hindsight because people questioned the decision as soon as the lineup was released.

 

[Dj_sds -]

I'm absolutely convinced that Wenger definitely put Xhaka in at CB on at least a couple of occasions, that's before we even get to ****ing Elneny who can't head a ball properly or make a tackle.

Im pretty sure he never started at cb but i dont know if it occurred during games. But he did play cb at gladbach on a few occasions.

 

[Makingtrax]

Yeah, Monreal played 90 minutes in that game. Again I don’t think it’s hindsight because people questioned the decision as soon as the lineup was released.

I think I answered that, a lot of posters criticise something about the team nearly every week. If we win they say nothing more.

 

[Sapient Hawk]

This season, Emery has shown glimpses of what he has to offer. We have totally outplayed Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea at home. We even bossed Utd at Old Trafford, but individual mistakes let us down. I can't remember the last time we really took it to other top 6 clubs like that so consistently in a season. The only game we got totally outplayed was at Anfield.

I think before the season started, any realistic fan knew that this was a settling in season for Emery and that a top 4 battle was probably the best we could hope for.

He inherited a really unbalanced squad with some players on big wages he obviously doesn't rate. It'll take time for Emery to really get his fingerprints on the squad. I'm hoping with the new Adidas deal, he's given 100-150 mil to spend + whatever he can raise from player sales (probably a pipedream).

This season was always a write off for me personally. Emery is doing just about what I expected of him in the circumstances he inherited. I feel like some fans are being far too harsh.

Even then the game at Anfield had a scoreline that flattered with two penalties that never were.

If he's properly backed in the transfer market I believe he'll do well here.

Hopefully he grabs us a cup double this season to lift everyone's spirits.