Unai Emery

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Is Unai Emery the right man to take Arsenal forward?

Poll ended at Tue Aug 27, 2019 9:36 pm

Yes
18
27%
No
22
33%
Unsure
16
24%
Doesn't matter as long as Kroenke is in charge
10
15%
 
Total votes : 66

Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby jayramfootball » Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:48 pm

theHotHead wrote:
Luzh 22 wrote:Someone want to help Angelito out with Klopp's honour list versus that of Emery's? "Pedigree" and "class" :lol:


On the contrary. I am not twisting things. You're quite clearly twisting things to fit your agenda though,
like the inconsistencies and contradictions in your own posts.


Have at it mate, you're not for turning, so go ahead.

Wait, are you comparing Klopp's achievements with Emery's ? And if so are you saying Emery has achieved more or are you literally talking about trophies won ? Because what Klopp did at Dortmund is nothing short of incredible. Klopp rebuilt Dortmund after they were on the financial brink of collapse and couldn't pay their players.


If we didn;t have so many Wenger sycophants at the time, Klopp might well be our manager today.
We missed out on Guardiola too whilst the club festered.

Still, Emery is doing things right at the moment. Good tactically, trying things out and getting rid of truly awful players like Ramsey and Wilshere, as well as players who simply don't want to be at the club like Ozil.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby theHotHead » Tue Feb 12, 2019 6:59 pm

Goonerz wrote:
theHotHead wrote:
Goonerz wrote:It’s the same people that will say the opposite in other threads “Play to the players strengths. Play to the squad’s strengths. So and so player shouldn’t be asked to do the nitty gritty because that is not his game blah blah”.

Let me ask, what are our strengths as a team in the last 5 or so seasons? Do we even have any strengths. :doh: :think:

Thats right, play to a player's strengths. If you want a fast car no point buying a slow car and try to make it fast. Players can be improved, how many times have you heard players say they want to play under a certain manager so they can grow and improve. But you are not using your brain, you think that players can improve all facets other game, thats not what I said or inferred The biggest improvement Arsenal can make is as a team in our defending, I have stated this time and time and time again. Perhaps you read things with your eyes wide shut.

So you play to Xhaka’s strengths. Play to Ramsey’s strengths. Play to Ozil’s strengths. Play to iwobi’s strengths. Play to Mustafi’s strengths. Play to Kola’s strengths. Play to Auba’s strengths. Play to Laca’s strengths etc.. Where does it stop? Because I will tell you that the Xhaka fans have demanded we play to his strengths. The Ozil base keep demanding for the team to play to Ozil’s strengths. The Ramsey fans been demanding we play to Ramsey’s stengths. The Iwobi fans are now asking for the team to play him as a #10 because that is his preferred position. People wanted the team to play to both Auba and Laca strengths, but we know one of them has to compromise and play on the wing, so his supporters will not be happy if their man is not getting the numbers.

This means we have to choose one player over the others and then play to his strengths. Then we will be in the same position where disgruntled fans of other players will not be happy.

I say they all should adapt to the managers philosophy then earn the right and respect first.

I'll bite. Of course you don't play to everyone's strengths but you should at a minimum look to play to the strengths of your best players. If the strengths of your best players oppose each other then you are f***ked. Arsenal are not in a position of revolution, so it needs to be evolution. Look at what you have, what can they do, implement small changes, bit by bit evolve.

Our most solid back 4 should be Kos, Socrates, Bellerin, Monreal. The only player I worry about defensively is Bellerin but with good leadership and a fear bit of being told where to be defensively by his more experienced CB neighbour he will improve. Once you get the defence working together as a unit you can get the midfield to do the same. Torreira looks like he studied the DM handbook cover to cover, his reading of the game is superb. Xhaka has looked his best (still sub-standard) when played next to Torreira should he even be playing ? Should Guendouzi play in his place ? Guendouzi goes wandering off which can expose Torreira, but Guendouzi is a natural box to box midfielder, sometimes he therefore should be told when not to go forward, in time he will sense it and see danger.

Kolasinac is terrible defending so don't play him in that role at all. Litchsteiner is just dead so don't play him ever.

Iwobi is very good running at players but has poor end product, so either play him as a player that runs at opponents or don't play him at all. Ozil is best drifting across the pitch playing short passes and incisive through balls, let him play his natural game. Lacazette is very good holding up the ball, Auba is shit holding up the ball but is much better running onto balls. Why can't they both play the roles they are good at, in what capacity are they played now ?

I have not written anything that you all didn't already know, we have seen what square pegs in round holes does, we lived that under Wenger for the last 8 years. Its not just personnel, its tactics and its formation, there are so many variables present and dozens/hundreds of combinations. Just because the manager favours a handful that don't suit the players that doesn't mean that the players are shit, its down to the manager to find a combination that works.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby jayramfootball » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:04 pm

theHotHead wrote:
Goonerz wrote:
theHotHead wrote:
Goonerz wrote:It’s the same people that will say the opposite in other threads “Play to the players strengths. Play to the squad’s strengths. So and so player shouldn’t be asked to do the nitty gritty because that is not his game blah blah”.

Let me ask, what are our strengths as a team in the last 5 or so seasons? Do we even have any strengths. :doh: :think:

Thats right, play to a player's strengths. If you want a fast car no point buying a slow car and try to make it fast. Players can be improved, how many times have you heard players say they want to play under a certain manager so they can grow and improve. But you are not using your brain, you think that players can improve all facets other game, thats not what I said or inferred The biggest improvement Arsenal can make is as a team in our defending, I have stated this time and time and time again. Perhaps you read things with your eyes wide shut.

So you play to Xhaka’s strengths. Play to Ramsey’s strengths. Play to Ozil’s strengths. Play to iwobi’s strengths. Play to Mustafi’s strengths. Play to Kola’s strengths. Play to Auba’s strengths. Play to Laca’s strengths etc.. Where does it stop? Because I will tell you that the Xhaka fans have demanded we play to his strengths. The Ozil base keep demanding for the team to play to Ozil’s strengths. The Ramsey fans been demanding we play to Ramsey’s stengths. The Iwobi fans are now asking for the team to play him as a #10 because that is his preferred position. People wanted the team to play to both Auba and Laca strengths, but we know one of them has to compromise and play on the wing, so his supporters will not be happy if their man is not getting the numbers.

This means we have to choose one player over the others and then play to his strengths. Then we will be in the same position where disgruntled fans of other players will not be happy.

I say they all should adapt to the managers philosophy then earn the right and respect first.

I'll bite. Of course you don't play to everyone's strengths but you should at a minimum look to play to the strengths of your best players. If the strengths of your best players oppose each other then you are f***ked. Arsenal are not in a position of revolution, so it needs to be evolution. Look at what you have, what can they do, implement small changes, bit by bit evolve.

Our most solid back 4 should be Kos, Socrates, Bellerin, Monreal. The only player I worry about defensively is Bellerin but with good leadership and a fear bit of being told where to be defensively by his more experienced CB neighbour he will improve. Once you get the defence working together as a unit you can get the midfield to do the same. Torreira looks like he studied the DM handbook cover to cover, his reading of the game is superb. Xhaka has looked his best (still sub-standard) when played next to Torreira should he even be playing ? Should Guendouzi play in his place ? Guendouzi goes wandering off which can expose Torreira, but Guendouzi is a natural box to box midfielder, sometimes he therefore should be told when not to go forward, in time he will sense it and see danger.

Kolasinac is terrible defending so don't play him in that role at all. Litchsteiner is just dead so don't play him ever.

Iwobi is very good running at players but has poor end product, so either play him as a player that runs at opponents or don't play him at all. Ozil is best drifting across the pitch playing short passes and incisive through balls, let him play his natural game. Lacazette is very good holding up the ball, Auba is shit holding up the ball but is much better running onto balls. Why can't they both play the roles they are good at, in what capacity are they played now ?

I have not written anything that you all didn't already know, we have seen what square pegs in round holes does, we lived that under Wenger for the last 8 years. Its not just personnel, its tactics and its formation, there are so many variables present and dozens/hundreds of combinations. Just because the manager favours a handful that don't suit the players that doesn't mean that the players are shit, its down to the manager to find a combination that works.


Hothead, I luv ya man, but we need revolution not evolution.
I don't care how good a defender is - if they have to play with Kos and Bellerin, they are going to be shown up.
Sokratis, Monreal and two new starters - that's what we need.

I like Torreira and Guenduzi as a 2 in midfield, but we need a top class creative player - Ozil is that but his head is not in the game and as far as I am concerned he is gone. I have some hope for Suarez.. good player who has not quite had his chance yet...case of being elevated to the top too early, I think.

Up front we are in dire need of a wide player and a clinical striker.

Then there is so much to do with the squad. I don;t think we have more than 5-6 players who are good enough.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby theHotHead » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:10 pm

DiamondGooner wrote:
Wenger had a particular way of doing things but Emery is stickler for detail, trains his players, that's been documented throughout, the players have mentioned it etc and they have a defensive coach.

Of course they're training defense, do you not see how they play out from the back etc you don't think they train anything else? even look how bad they are at that compared to City.

You say "How do you know?" fine ........... how to you know they're not?

Considering its a football team with coaches I'd assume a professional team trains defense, Wenger is Wenger, you can't tar everyone with that brush.

Finally to say their crap at it, again, maybe its not the coaches, these defenders have been pretty consistently crap for years.

Point is ........... we need better defenders, Sokratis has been proof of that, you insisting we can get Mustafi to become a better player is reaching, he's had training at AFC whatever they offer and he is who he is, if they don't train defence then that doesn't change the point, a better defender wouldn't need so much drilling.

Playing out from the back is not coaching/training the defence, its a way of moving the ball forwards, from back to front in a possession-based manner. Coaching the defence is all about moving as a unit, if one goes there - you go here, etc, its all about patterns and phases of play. Lee Dixon (or was it Winterburn) put it best when he explained how much George Graham drilled the defence, he said they did it until they could do it in their sleep, they all knew where they needed to be, it became second nature. So much so that when Wenger came he decided not to touch the defence because it worked so well.

Why do we need better defenders ? I don't agree. We have conceded more goals than Wolves, Watford, Crystal Palace and Newcastle. We have better players than them but they can defend better than us. The argument, therefore, that we need better players to improve defensively is a kop out.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby theHotHead » Tue Feb 12, 2019 7:12 pm

jayramfootball wrote:
Hothead, I luv ya man, but we need revolution not evolution.
I don't care how good a defender is - if they have to play with Kos and Bellerin, they are going to be shown up.
Sokratis, Monreal and two new starters - that's what we need.

I like Torreira and Guenduzi as a 2 in midfield, but we need a top class creative player - Ozil is that but his head is not in the game and as far as I am concerned he is gone. I have some hope for Suarez.. good player who has not quite had his chance yet...case of being elevated to the top too early, I think.

Up front we are in dire need of a wide player and a clinical striker.

Then there is so much to do with the squad. I don;t think we have more than 5-6 players who are good enough.

Are we gonna get a revolution though Jay ? We don't have money - or so we are being told.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby Power n Glory » Tue Feb 12, 2019 8:55 pm

BrunelGooner wrote:I do not accept this argument that "We can't see what Emery's trying to do". We can, and we could see what he was doing to begin with, but he just hasn't had the players fit/available to play the way he wants which is why we chop and change so much.



Good video and worth the watch. But that videos based off the 4-3-2-1 formation. Not quite sure what we're trying to do when we play 3-4-3 or the other formations..

But I'll go off what's in the video and assume that's what we're trying to achieve. Why is there no space for Ozil in that set up? Why try to play Ramsey in the central AM role ahead of the two Cm's? Ramsey hasn't really got a incisive pass on him. He's more of a runner and gets forward into the box which means we lack the passer to play it through the middle when when the two wide players take a more central position as illustrated in the video. We end up going wide and we're overly dependent on the wingback overlap as seen.

Also, our two holding CM's tend to push further up the pitch because of this. Xhaka isn't the quickest or a good defender even if he is aggressive. He's bypassed easily on the counter and if Torreira can't t sweep up on his own, our CB's are left exposed in a highline against attacks.

Not sure why he doesn't play Ramsey in that wide position that Iwobi currently plays. I still think Ozil could play a role for us. Elneny is off form but he makes himself available for the pass, unlike Xhaka who can't play on the half turn which means when playing out from the back we can't get him ball. AMN is more of CM and not a wingback....I don't think we've seen much tinkering in some of the key areas with the current squad. Also, why let Wilshere go? So many questions.

I know that we don't have much options internally, but it's looking like we going to need to spend a heck of a lot to get this right. It also looks like he doesn't know the current squad that well in terms of strengths and weaknesses. We'll see how this pans out. Good video though.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby Luzh 22 » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:29 pm

theHotHead wrote:
Luzh 22 wrote:Someone want to help Angelito out with Klopp's honour list versus that of Emery's? "Pedigree" and "class" :lol:


On the contrary. I am not twisting things. You're quite clearly twisting things to fit your agenda though,
like the inconsistencies and contradictions in your own posts.


Have at it mate, you're not for turning, so go ahead.

Wait, are you comparing Klopp's achievements with Emery's ? And if so are you saying Emery has achieved more or are you literally talking about trophies won ? Because what Klopp did at Dortmund is nothing short of incredible. Klopp rebuilt Dortmund after they were on the financial brink of collapse and couldn't pay their players.


I was actually comparing silverware, but since you ask, Valencia.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby Interest: waning » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:31 pm

Power n Glory wrote:
Luzh 22 wrote:
Angelito wrote:
swipe right wrote:Philosophical question. Should the manager adapt his system to the players he has, as Emery is being asked to do? Or should the club adapt the squad to the system the manager is best known for, like Guardiola? I guess it depends on the resources of the club and the reputation of the manager.


First season, adapt to existing players. Embed vision slowly.

If the end objective is in and around the season objective set prior to recruitment, proceed to second season. Also, the pedigree of the manager has to be taken into account.

Allow the manager to sign 2-3 of his players depending on budget and set season objectives. If the manager is on track, good. If he isn't on track, assess issues.

2nd season is a must deliver season. In the case of Arsenal it's top-4 in the league. If he's delivering, reinforce where and when needed. If not, depending on the class of the manager, sack him.

It's crucial to hire the right manager. It's also important to know when to back a manager like Liverpool with Klopp, and when to sack him - like ManU under Moyes or Mourinho this season.





First two and a half mins of that video will tell you everything you both want to know, and where you're wrong in the case of Angelito.


But Emery seems to be adapting to the players. He doesn’t play 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. He doesn’t have a history of using that formation. He’s jumped to using a 4-4-2 flat line, 4-4-2 diamond…..his preferred formation is supposed to be the 4-2-3-1. Is this tactical or indecision and panic to try and see what sticks? He’s openly said the team is low on confidence so you have to question whether the chopping and changing is helping.

Personally, I think he should stick to his own philosophy. I remember when this video came out. It was during the comical moments where Cech was trying to play it short. I don’t even think we play the ball short that often these days. We’re certainly not pressing that hard and we’ve abandoned possession based football for some games and tried to defend deep. I’d like for someone to explain what we’re trying to achieve and what’s going on down there on the pitch. Lobbing these sort of questions to posters doesn’t really make a difference. We need more clarity and understanding about what’s happening and so far, I’ve listened to so many podcasts, read blogs from guys that usually have a good nose for what’s happening tactically on the pitch and they seem just as confused.
I agree. Why did we stop playing the short passes out the back?

I'm guessing Emery realised how shit our players are at it and is just trying to wing this season by being as pragmatic as possible until he's able to get more players who fit his vision.

That's my hope.

However I'm still stumped as to why we are so, so bad at holding possession this season.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby DiamondGooner » Tue Feb 12, 2019 9:40 pm

theHotHead wrote:Playing out from the back is not coaching/training the defence, its a way of moving the ball forwards, from back to front in a possession-based manner. Coaching the defence is all about moving as a unit, if one goes there - you go here, etc, its all about patterns and phases of play. Lee Dixon (or was it Winterburn) put it best when he explained how much George Graham drilled the defence, he said they did it until they could do it in their sleep, they all knew where they needed to be, it became second nature. So much so that when Wenger came he decided not to touch the defence because it worked so well.

Why do we need better defenders ? I don't agree. We have conceded more goals than Wolves, Watford, Crystal Palace and Newcastle. We have better players than them but they can defend better than us. The argument, therefore, that we need better players to improve defensively is a kop out.


Then why did Liverpool splash £70m on Virgil van Dijk?

Why did Sagna, Clichey or Vermaelen not improve when they moved to other teams or does no one train defence in your view?

Fact is they have been training and this is what we're getting, as I said Sokratis proves a better defender can out perform Mustafi and co, what your suggesting is conjecture (that they aren't training).

Regardless, we need better players all over the park.

Iwobi, Mkhitarayan, Xhaka, Monreal, Mustafi, Kos (unless he regains serious form), Elneny, Monreal.

None of these players would get into a top 4 side and we rely on these players for our 1st 11 way too much.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby DiamondGooner » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:01 pm

............... bye the way.

At least we're not Chelsea, people think Emery's not doing good enough, Sarri is fked,
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby jayramfootball » Tue Feb 12, 2019 10:09 pm

theHotHead wrote:
jayramfootball wrote:
Hothead, I luv ya man, but we need revolution not evolution.
I don't care how good a defender is - if they have to play with Kos and Bellerin, they are going to be shown up.
Sokratis, Monreal and two new starters - that's what we need.

I like Torreira and Guenduzi as a 2 in midfield, but we need a top class creative player - Ozil is that but his head is not in the game and as far as I am concerned he is gone. I have some hope for Suarez.. good player who has not quite had his chance yet...case of being elevated to the top too early, I think.

Up front we are in dire need of a wide player and a clinical striker.

Then there is so much to do with the squad. I don;t think we have more than 5-6 players who are good enough.

Are we gonna get a revolution though Jay ? We don't have money - or so we are being told.


Nah, we're not. At least not whilst Kroenke is in charge.
Funnily enough I think the best thing for the long term would be to stay out of the CL for years and rebuild once the overpaid rubbish is gone from the squad. We've reallu mucked up our wage bill over the last few years.
I am more or less happy just to watch game by game and not worry too much about CL or league titles. They are for the next generation, hopefully. I am content with decent football and some good matches from time to time...maybe the odd cup run.

There is something to be said about just enjoying the game and especially the odd moments of victory. For me there is zero glory or achievement in anything City, Chelsea or Barca or Real do. It's just money buying trophies. Liverpool are doing the same, although to a lesser extent. Put it this way - I bet the Leicester fans have felt more joy over the last 20 years in that single league title than ANYTHING City fans will feel from their cumulative bought trophies.

I was watching the film 89 the other day, found out something new from that great night at Anfield ... Adams, Winterburn, Dixon, Merse, Smith, Davis, Thomas.. the lot of them took the bus back to London after winning the title with the last kick of the game and went to a late night bar and joined the fans for a celebration till 6am... Thomas emerged from the club at 6am with one of the fans and went to the news agents to read the early morning papers together.. sitting on the pavement. I found that a great story... proper footballers, proper people, real achievement, real sport. What we have now is frankly bollocks. I gave up worring about whether Arsenal win trophies in a now meaningless sport polluted with money and full of players who don;t give a stuff about anything but their bank balance.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby theHotHead » Wed Feb 13, 2019 8:57 am

Luzh 22 wrote:
theHotHead wrote:
Luzh 22 wrote:Someone want to help Angelito out with Klopp's honour list versus that of Emery's? "Pedigree" and "class" :lol:


On the contrary. I am not twisting things. You're quite clearly twisting things to fit your agenda though,
like the inconsistencies and contradictions in your own posts.


Have at it mate, you're not for turning, so go ahead.

Wait, are you comparing Klopp's achievements with Emery's ? And if so are you saying Emery has achieved more or are you literally talking about trophies won ? Because what Klopp did at Dortmund is nothing short of incredible. Klopp rebuilt Dortmund after they were on the financial brink of collapse and couldn't pay their players.


I was actually comparing silverware, but since you ask, Valencia.

Mate you can't compare the Valencia situation with Dortmund's! Dortmund had to bring in youngsters and coach them, they had no money, they had no star players to rely on. Klopp's development of these players turned them into the world class stars they became. They won the league twice, they did the league and cup double and got to 2 CL finals under Klopp.

What Klopp achieved with Dortmund is a straight up fairytale story.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby Power n Glory » Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:26 am

Interest: waning wrote:
Power n Glory wrote:
Luzh 22 wrote:
Angelito wrote:
swipe right wrote:Philosophical question. Should the manager adapt his system to the players he has, as Emery is being asked to do? Or should the club adapt the squad to the system the manager is best known for, like Guardiola? I guess it depends on the resources of the club and the reputation of the manager.


First season, adapt to existing players. Embed vision slowly.

If the end objective is in and around the season objective set prior to recruitment, proceed to second season. Also, the pedigree of the manager has to be taken into account.

Allow the manager to sign 2-3 of his players depending on budget and set season objectives. If the manager is on track, good. If he isn't on track, assess issues.

2nd season is a must deliver season. In the case of Arsenal it's top-4 in the league. If he's delivering, reinforce where and when needed. If not, depending on the class of the manager, sack him.

It's crucial to hire the right manager. It's also important to know when to back a manager like Liverpool with Klopp, and when to sack him - like ManU under Moyes or Mourinho this season.





First two and a half mins of that video will tell you everything you both want to know, and where you're wrong in the case of Angelito.


But Emery seems to be adapting to the players. He doesn’t play 3-4-3 or 3-5-2. He doesn’t have a history of using that formation. He’s jumped to using a 4-4-2 flat line, 4-4-2 diamond…..his preferred formation is supposed to be the 4-2-3-1. Is this tactical or indecision and panic to try and see what sticks? He’s openly said the team is low on confidence so you have to question whether the chopping and changing is helping.

Personally, I think he should stick to his own philosophy. I remember when this video came out. It was during the comical moments where Cech was trying to play it short. I don’t even think we play the ball short that often these days. We’re certainly not pressing that hard and we’ve abandoned possession based football for some games and tried to defend deep. I’d like for someone to explain what we’re trying to achieve and what’s going on down there on the pitch. Lobbing these sort of questions to posters doesn’t really make a difference. We need more clarity and understanding about what’s happening and so far, I’ve listened to so many podcasts, read blogs from guys that usually have a good nose for what’s happening tactically on the pitch and they seem just as confused.
I agree. Why did we stop playing the short passes out the back?

I'm guessing Emery realised how shit our players are at it and is just trying to wing this season by being as pragmatic as possible until he's able to get more players who fit his vision.

That's my hope.

However I'm still stumped as to why we are so, so bad at holding possession this season.


Read this on Le Grove yesterday evening.

The manager will be here this summer, of that there is no doubt. My view is things should be improving more rapidly than they are. That view is shared by people who work in and around the club, and those who are paid to write about it on the regular. There is a counter to my view that also makes sense, that is that Emery is grinding out ugly results and we’re in the mixer, which is all anyone ever wanted. His view on taking top 4 is to scrap like a prizefighter and worry about how that looks in the summer.

I just wanted to touch of a few of the arguments. One consistent theme I keep hearing is that the manager doesn’t have the players to affect the performance. I find this view maddening.

Benrd Leno – Internationally capped keeper and a huge upgrade on a declining Cech. The best keeper we’ve had since Lehmann.

Sokratis – Has won titles in Germany, is a natural leader, we all love him because he is mean to other players.

Kola – Bundesliga team of the season. Has 5 assists to his name this year.

Bellerin – Was having a great season. Was tracked by Barca in the summer. One of the best young right backs in the world. Injured, sure, but our defence has been shite all season and he was here for 19 games. Also landed 5 assists.

Koscielny – Would have captained France had he not been injured. Has come back and settled pretty well.

Monreal – Capped for Spain, has been a high performer over the years, even if his pace is in decline.

Torreira – The first proper DM we’ve had since Patrick Vieira, a superb player. Looked off form of late, but that seems more due to fatigue and the box to box rampage he’s on of late.

Matteo G – 19, but one of our best performers this season.

Xhaka – Captain of Switzerland, master of stats, a player the savants adore.

Mikhi – Title winner at Dortmund. Hasn’t been great, but he’s capable and he assisted the assister. I think we missed him.

Auba – The most clinical striker we’ve had since Thierry. 3rd in EPL top scorers

Lacazette – We all love him. What a striker, probably our most valuable player. Hugely effective. Top 10 EPL scorers. Maybe as cool as Bowie himself. Incredible finisher.

Ramsey – So good, Allegri signed him at Juve. Has played 921 EPL minutes this year.

Mesut – Broken for sure, but the closest thing to world class we have.

Please, spare me the ‘ this squad is so shite’ nonsense. It simply doesn’t correlate with reality or our current league position. It’s so subjective and the margins are paper thin. Chelsea finished 5th last year and are 6th this year under a new manager. They’ve not had a striker all year, given the context of what they are trying to do, is their squad so much better than ours? They’re playing Kante in an advanced position, Jorginho is shite, DL has been targeted, Barkley is awful, their defence shipped 6 vs City and 4 vs Bournemouth, their hail mary was signing Higuain who looks more out of shape than the Tango man. That squad didn’t deliver under Conte in season 2 and it’s failing miserably under a manager who can’t convince the players fancy football is the future. Chelsea didn’t invest in Sarri in the same way many think Arsenal didn’t invest in Emery. They swapped like for like with keepers and added Kovacic on loan and Jorginho was their big signing (and he’s tanked). Will he land a season 2? Doubtful if the players go any harder at ending him.

We should be doing better on the pitch. Our lack of pressing is a focus and discipline issue. You can teach it. There’s no magic approach, you just need to enforce it. Mesut Ozil was dropped because he wouldn’t do it, yet here we are, Mesutless and still not doing it? Spurs press. Leipzig press. Dortmund press. Liverpool press. Why do we not press effectively?

Style should be fairly straight-forward to impose. Emery isn’t teaching Stoke players to express themselves without violence. He’s trying to get players who have literally only artistically expressed themselves for ten years to channel the fancy into something more practical. What I don’t expect is the style to work immediately, however, we’re not even seeing a bad version of the vision, unless I’m missing something?

Klopp went into Liverpool with a shite squad, he had his team playing heavy metal football with average bodies and the big thing was: ‘He just needs a good center back’

Pep implemented his expressive brand of football and he hobbled to 4th in the first season. It was clear what the plan was. They were the best team in the league transitioning from midfield to attack, but they couldn’t play out of the back. So he went out and upgraded on Bacary Sagna at center back and invested in fullbacks better than Zabaleta and Clichy.

Wenger came to Arsenal in October from Japan (no pre-season), added Anelka, Paddy, Garde (relative nobodies) and transformed a group of alcoholics (late in their careers) known for shit football into a team that finished 3rd (joint with 2nd/4th on points) in year one. Anyone doubt where the club was heading? Think about what he did for a second, it was unbelievable, and you think Emery has it bad?

Bielsa taught Championship players his ways, they play explosive attacking football with an outrageously aggressive press. Favre has Dortmund back to their best. Even Stevie G has brought some vision to Rangers in Scotland. My point here is these teams all have worse players, but that hasn’t stopped a vision emerging on the pitch. Even Paddy has Nice conceding under a goal game @ 0.96 down from 1.36.

Arsenal don’t have an ‘if you just did this’ list of players. Why? Because no one knows what we’re shooting for. What was the point of Suarez as far as you can tell? Arsenal don’t have a settled formation. Does anyone think a couple of wide players blows this team up next season? Would that solve for the lack of pressing and the porous defence? I’m not so sure.

Signing a keeper good with his feet hasn’t led to us playing out the back more, against Huddersfield Leno went short 7 times (12% of his total passes). We have defenders who can pass, so what’s the excuse for the hoof? Nacho dropped 85% pass completion, Kos was 90%, Mustafi 74% (iffy, but not awful considering how poor he’s been).

The only plan Emery does rigidly stick to is using his fullbacks to transition the ball forward, which was strugglebus.com against Huddersfield. Kola had particularly bad numbers, but nowhere near the as poor as AMN. You’d take him over Lichtsteiner or Jenko, so obviously I can feel for Emery there. The club is going to need to upgrade there this summer for sure.

It’s crazy to think the club saw a presentation last May that basically said it’s all shit and I have nothing to work, but that’s the narrative now.

My worry here is when I think about the type of players Emery REALLY wanted to solve our issues. Banega, Carrasco, Perisic, Nzonzi and Suarez. Are we moving forward with names like this?

A comment from Valentin in the comments:

At PSG Emery got his own players. All of them flopped and failed to adapt for the more aggressive Ligue 1. He got Krychowiak a year later he was on loan at WestmBrom where he helped to get them relegated. He got Jese, six months later he is on loan at Stoke that he helped get relegated.

Emery tends to favour players he is familiar with. Players who will be grateful for the opportunity and will obey diligently his instructions. The problem is that now he is at a higher level of club, being a diligent tidy players is not enough. You need special talent and none of them ever had that.

Ever Banega, Suarez are good decent players but for the sort of money/salary you expect more. None of them look like the kind of talent that will propel Arsenal forward and catch Liverpool or ManCity.

Broader point: The football is subpar and the fans who go to games are not showing up. The atmosphere is totally sterile. There is no excitement around the club.

However, let’s talk about what is incredible, amazing, and positively life-affirming. For all the cries of ‘we are shit’ from the Emery flag wavers, we are actually sitting in 5th, 1 point behind a resurgent United. We have been dire to watch all season, but we are closer than spitting distance to top four, we’re so tight in on them you can smell the Lynx Africa emanating from the sweaty jowels of Phil Jones. United’s next three games are PSG, Chelsea (FA Cup) then Liverpool, then Palace away. All potential bread mops ready to wipe out the OGS gravy train.

Our next two games are against Bate, who have finished their season. We can rest our players weary legs, then go HARD at Southampton and Bournemouth who we welcome at home. Confidence could be SOARING HIGH before we go to Wembley to topple Spurs annoyingly positive season, followed by United (H), and Wolves (A).

The absolute magic of Emery is that we have been dreadful, but we are still more than in it… he has made winning ugly an art form and it’s working… and really, in the Europa League, we only have to worry about Chelsea (who look finished) and Napoli.

Additionally, the summer is all for Emery. He will have a full preseason. He’ll get to spend £40-100m. I don’t think we’re playing in a tournament. He’ll have all his ducks in order to go hard at next season. Then we’ll see where the football is… then we shall see if patience was indeed a virtue.

Ok, that’s me done. See you in the comments. x


A lot of good points made.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby Angelito » Wed Feb 13, 2019 9:55 am

^ Exactly.

If this side is shit, like some are insinuating or claiming, then last year's side was even shittier. So, then why did Wenger have to go if it's the squad's fault and not the manager's?

That's now how it works. We had a good, albeit uneven, squad and we've added some good/great players in the summer to have a better squad than last season. It's the manager's job to get this side performing to a certain level.

Unai has been unlucky with injuries. That's for sure. What's also for sure is that the injury crisis at Arsenal isn't anything new. I feel we have the owners to blame for not having a top-class winger in the side. We also have Unai to blame for not playing our best players in a free-flowing attacking style.

As mentioned in the above post, Arsenal players have always played free-flowing football. So, I'm not sure why we're acting like a team that used to park the bus is made to attack all of a sudden. It's the reverse actually. Emery doesn't need 5 years to turn around the "mess at Arsenal" (Luzh). It's not like Unai took over at Southampton or something. You can't give 5 years to a manager in today's setting unless he's fulfilling the objectives set by the club.
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Re: Unai Emery, Arsenal Head Coach

Postby Jedi » Wed Feb 13, 2019 10:09 am

Angelito wrote:If this side is shit, like some are insinuating or claiming, then last year's side was even shittier. So, then why did Wenger have to go if it's the squad's fault and not the manager's?

The squad being shit IS the managers fault. The difference between Emery and Wenger is that one had 20+ summer transfer windows at this club and one had only one.
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