Watching the events from Villa Park on Wednesday was bittersweet.
Aston Villa were doing us a massive favour in the title race but equally left the impression we will have to raise our levels to also not drop points this weekend.
It supports Tony Adams’ argument that if Unai Emery had still been our boss, we would have become Champions last season.
Our former captain was trying to stress that Arteta lacked the experience to get us over the line in the run in.
It feels a betrayal to question a man who has a statue outside of the Emirates, but there’s zero guarantee that if the Kroenke Family had stuck with Emery, he would have turned us into contenders.
While I have never been shy to point out our current manager’s flaws and maintain we lack the mentality to lift the Prem, I understand the standard we now operate at, and the level required to finish above Man City.
The current regime have done a lot of good things for us to be having this conversation.
If Villa get to Sunday morning just a point behind us it will support the notion that Emery was simply unlucky to be hired directly after Mr Wenger. That in reality whoever replaced a legacy that lasted two decades was destined to struggle.
Yet never forget how dark the last few weeks of Emery’s tenure was. It wasn’t clear what our identity was, the likes of Palace, Saints and Wolves were getting results at our ground and the style of play was depressing.
Consistently it was the worse I saw Arsenal play in my lifetime.
Some of the media who got to witness parts of training the night before his final game leading the Gunners, couldn’t believe the body language of senior pros.
It’s not the Spaniard’s fault that he was still learning English, his employers knew who they were hiring.
Yet communication has been a key difference between Emery and Arteta.
Even though he was a rookie, from his very first press conference Arteta explained his ethos better then Emery had ever managed.
Our ex-skipper used buzz words, knowing what Gooners wanted to hear but he also sent a strong message to his squad.
At times he’s flat out lied but you have always sensed he believes in his principles.
After two 8th place finishes, the worst in quarter of a century, Arteta had a strong enough personality to sit down with Edu, BFG and Josh Kroenke to take part in an action plan to improve all areas of the club.
From a PR perspective our owners were pressured into listening after trying to become members of the Super League without consulting the fan base.
Emery either felt unable or unwilling to do the same, to sit down and address the problems that existed, which is the first part of finding any solution.
This isn’t to discredit his body of work, but Emery’s success has come at clubs where the expectation levels haven’t been high.
It’s no coincidence that he was sacked or walked away at the two biggest sides he coached, PSG and Arsenal.
That doesn’t take away lifting the Europa League with Sevilla and Villarreal but punching over your weight as an underdog where the attention is only in your city, can’t be compared to the responsibility of taking one of the biggest institutions in the UK back to the big time.
Villa are a big club with a proud history. Yet you can drop points at Bournemouth and it’s not a talking point.
Drop any points at Arsenal and the world scrutinise.
In sport skill gets you so fair. What separates the good from the great is mental strength.
Arsenal don’t have that but doing well in Birmingham doesn’t prove that Emery has that.
Arsenal and Villa are different jobs that take different skill set.
Ideally you would have Arteta’s charisma with Emery’s experience.
Maybe that’s what Adam’s was asking for in an ideal world?
If he keeps his ego under control, Arteta will get better every year, he gains new knowledge and learns things.
No matter the result on Saturday, I wouldn’t want Emery anywhere near North London again.
So, no Tony Adams, we wouldn’t have won the title under Unai Emery.
We wouldn’t even be in the equation.
Dan