Unai Emery was given the hardest possible start to his career as Arsenal boss with a home game against the Champions followed by an away game at one of our biggest rivals Chelsea. We were all hoping that Arsenal could get something from these two games, but the fact that Man City beat us 9-1 over 3 meetings last season, and we haven’t beaten Chelsea at Stamford Bridge since 2011, it was a bit of a leap to believe that Emery could turn things around so much in just a couple of months of pre-season with half the team missing….
So we lost (as expected) to Man City, and now we have the next daunting task coming up, but Hector Bellerin is still in a positive mood. “There’s still loads of games but you cannot be missing out on points.” The Spaniard said. “Every single point is important and going away to Chelsea is always hard. They showed yesterday that they’re a team that play very good football under Sarri, and we’re up for the challenge. We played them in pre-season so we know more or less how they play, so now we have a whole week to prepare and get ready for it.”
But Arsenal fans do need to be realistic and not expect massive improvement overnight, but if we lose to Chelsea as well it won’t be the end of the world. bellerin was also asked if Emery’s reign will be more succesful that the last few dismal years of Wenger. “Definitely.” he replied. “I think after 22 years under Arsene Wenger there are many things that are changing so it’s important for everyone to get used to all the players. Everyone should be very excited because it’s a new era for us and it’s about learning with the new coach, learning the new system and I’m sure we’ll get better. If you compare it to Guardiola’s first year it was a very hard year for him – and look where they are now! So we need to look at it that way. It’s a positive change and we’re excited.”
We are all excited too, and we shouldn’t be too despondent either if we start the season with two defeats. There is only one way to go after that.
Onwards and Upwards!
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being realistic, we were not gonna get good results against those teams. I believe though that when the team is finally ready, we would be a force
Yes we can be a force.
We can only do better if we keep working hard on the pitch and learning from the mistakes.
That game against City will be more useful than most think. Emery will use it as a template for the do’s and dont’s. To show each player and the team collectively what he wants.
He knew what he was doing when he played against City. It’s all about preparation. It was part of his process. It’s a test.
That video of the game will be used to assist us. He’s a tactician.
Sam Allardyce is negative, relegation surviving coach. No one who is at Arsenal should play or listen to someone like Sam.
We will improve.
Unai will come in the spotlight more in the next game than he has ever been in his career. The media & pundits in the UK are the worst, they will roast him & Arsenal is not their favourite team for whatever reason.
Us the fans are also not the most understanding, maybe its due to the fact that we have been taken for a ride now for years. Unai should prove himself in terms of selection & tactics, he can shout all he wants on the side line, the team can ran around like Kante & still loose he will be blamed for the wrong personnel put out on the pitch & instructions they carry.
We have a better chance of winning by playing the right players, in their right positions, right tactics that surprise your opponents (I get what he was trying to do with Auba coming in & pulling the defenders then allowing Ramsey to occupy that space up top, sad thing is Ramsey is no Isco or B. Silver to implement such with class), bottom line, trying something better with the resources at hand.
We can beat Chelsea
These up coming games are rather the type of games which will make fans understand that the times of Arsenal being relevant are far over. We do acknowledge the struggle but there are still lots of fans who wish to think otherwise. The truth can harsh at times and we need a wake up call. Emery is here to make us survive and not do wonders. Those who do wonders are the ones in the pitch and with the likes of big head Ramsey, pretty boy Bellerin, professional victim Ozil, and not to forget Mustafi and Xhaka he wont be eable to do much.
We are optimistic for the 4th place, well all and good so are the others. Arsenal will end up in the 6th place if we continue by Wengers actions.
ks-gunner, you are right in that Unai Emery can only work with the “cattle” he has and will need time to combine these players into a hopefully champion team.
All new managers , whatever the industry can’t walk into a new position and change things overnight. You have to get people on board and accepting of the changes required. If players don’t want to be part of the new project they have to be moved on.
Arsenal’s current wage bill is apparently £200 million pa, which if it increases may cause issues with “fair play” provisions.
It has been reported that Aaron Ramsey wants wages of £300,000 per week to sign a new contract. If this is the case he has overpriced himself in the current market and should be moved on.
So much for playing for the badge hey!!
Sue I’m hoping Unai now very much regrets making his early remarks about Ramsey (‘build the team round him’, ‘make him captain’) after he saw him in action against City.
The promising signs are that a) the word ‘captain’ has since been replaced by ‘I want 5 or 6 captains’ and b) he pulled him off last week.
If Unai can maintain mental toughness I look forward to Arsenal’s future. I just hope Ramsey was replaced for being useless and not for his recent calf injury.
Claude said on AFTV that Ramsey was as much use as Gordon Ramsay ??
Emery should have more of an idea (after last week) what his best starting 11 is… looking forward to seeing it on Saturday
Sue, Hardly ANY players anywhere these days play for the badge. They play for money and we have to accept that reality , even though it sucks.
all a result of the stupid ozil contract if true. Ramsey can claim he has won Arsenal titles while Ozil has not done nearly as much. Arsenal will have the find a seller in Jan it’s looking like. They cant keep giving these stupid contracts to players
We can get a result from this match if Emery gets the line-up right.
You’re right Innit and let’s hope those who were subbed last week STAY SUBBED this week!
I’ll be happy with a draw but if we do snatch a win I’ll be over the moon!
Can’t wait to see the line-up and hope Unai does not let us down.
Good article.
The writer’s expressed their opinion of the last few years with this.
‘more succesful that the last few dismal years of Wenger’.
_____________
I must be a very, very strange fan of Arsenal for we won the F A Cup three times out of four, in the last few years.
Unlike the writer of this piece I find winning the F A Cup exciting not dismal.
To quote Donald Triump
Please writer do not infest your opinion on me as fact in future.
Many thanks
I find that exciting – not dismal
Guys for the records we have not lost to Chelsea since the 3-1 loss at the bridge we can’t possibly loss now worst case a draw or break the jinx beat them at the bridge it’s possible come on Gunners let’s do this.
According to rumours Ramsey wants close to £300,000 per week like Ozil. That’s from his current salary of about £110,000 per week.
If that’s true then I hope we aren’t contemplating that
I want to know how he even got to £110,000 per week! Haha!
Inflated ego and inflated wages what we inherited from Wenger’s favorites.
Ramsey is never going to get anywhere near those numbers with another club.
If I were him I would have signed and shut the hell up quickly.
If not Arsenal need to sell him and recoup as much as possible FAST
Some seriously good teams in league.
Sad uncomfortable reality is Arsenal is not close to the force it once was.
Finishing;
5/6th – good
2-4 – amazing
1 – beyond belief
Lower than 6th – not good – but will feel like a total disaster
Simon if you meant to say ‘Lower than 6th – not good – but will NOT feel like a total disaster’ then I agree with your every word:)
I am all for giving emrey a season to get the balance and consistency that he wants but in the player department we are still going to be lacking,we still look weak at the back and if WE can see that Xhaka and Ozil are not grafters so will he, their workrate and attitude is appalling and by January they will both be out of the team, when he took this job he more or less said that he wanted hardworking players and unless they are prepared to graft they will be gone, lets give the bloke a chance to get the system to work then judge him,we have had a long time to study these players and so we are entitled to give an opinion,I don’t think it will be long before his is very similar.
Peter, Well noted. Shirkers, who Wenger actively collected and excused so lamely, will not still be here by next season at latest. I think Xhaka is our worst ever buy of over £18 million, by a distance.
@innit Ramsey for 300,000, he should be placed on OLX and sell him fast.
He should be replaced by gromit the dog
not one top european club interested in him … says alot … just part of the wenger swamp that needs to be drained
Emery has signed five players , four of whom have shown talent and one, Leno, who has not yet had that chance . I would back Emerys five signings to beat ANY five other of Wengers players left behind when he was sacked. All Emerys five should play in the starting eleven , which proves my point.
London is RED we will win by at least 3 goals mark my words
Emery’s lineup against Chelsea will go a long way to show us how he will operate i believe we the crop of players to beat Chelsea at the bridge at worst get a draw all he needs is to get the lineup right…
cech/Leno (i don’t care they are both good)
bell sok mus litch (if moreal is stil nt ready)
geundo torirrer
iwobi ozil auba
laca….
I too hope for a draw , but feel it will be difficult no matter the lineup. Chelsea have quality especially in the midfield. So I think the key will be to win the midfield battle, and create some chances for our strikers and they have to finish well. Chelsea don’t have a great finisher at striker so if Arsenal can keep Hazard, Willian, and Pedro off the score card we can maybe get a goal and leave with a win, or at least a draw.
IWOBI ?
BASED ON WHAT?
STOP BELIEVING IN THE WENGER MOLD OF THIS TYPE OF PLAYER: IWOBI LIKE WELBECK WILL NEVER BE GOOD ENOUGH FOR ARSENAL
Ramsey must be dreaming to ever expect AFC to pay him 300k per week. Infact i propose his current contract be reviewed downwards and should be perfomance based. Which club on earth will pay Ramsey above what he currently earns based on current form. He should bury his head in the sand after being outshone by 19 year old Matteo in his debut match…..and a big game for that matter.
It will be hard.
I was annoyed how naive emery was the other day.
I love him trying to change things but we clearly wernt ready and what a time to try it eh against the best team in the pl by far and with a goalie who has 2 left feet, has emery not watched city or cech before? I thought he was super prepped and at researching.
The time to try it was against lesser opposition.
And what’s with all our players pointjng the fingers and blame towards guendouzzi? That annoyed the sh*t out of me. Yes he made mistakes but he’s 19 a new signing and has never played in the pl before.
I didnt see anyone having a go at xhaka.
Its usually led by mustafi flat track bully!
At least Matteo gave his all for the badge and even was positive enough to go to enery to discuss tactics when laporte was injured.
I like the kid but he needs some protein shakes in him quickly!
Spot on Kieron, some Arsenal players need to have a good hard look at themselves, before criticizing a 19 yo kid having his first game in the EPL.