When Arsene Wenger announced his departure from Arsenal in April 2018, many fans celebrated. Some who felt his good days were over and had nothing more to offer, felt it was freedom at last! Or so they thought. Others who felt he was the best thing to happen to Arsenal, felt he was been forced out and he should be allowed to at least lead the team to another trophy; probably another FA cup, before bowing out in style. Whatever anybody thought, a lot of people knew that change was desired, and Wenger stepping down was just the beginning of the desired change.
On 23 May 2018, Emery was appointed as the new head coach of Arsenal; a lot of fans were elated, as many had the opinion that finally, the club was hiring a coach who was truly going to move the club forward, going by his previous coaching jobs. Emery agreed to a two-year deal with the club, with the club having the option to extend his deal for a further year. In his first competitive game in charge, on 13 August, his side lost to Manchester City 0–2 in the Premier League.
After a second consecutive loss to Chelsea on 18 August, Emery recorded his first win as Arsenal manager on 25 August, in a 3–1 home win over West Ham United. After this game, Arsenal won 11 games in a row, their best run of form since 2007. Arsenal then extended their unbeaten run to 22 games. Their 3–2 loss to Southampton in December was the first time they had been defeated in all competitions since August. As if that was not impressive enough, Emery yet again reached a Europa League Final but did not triumph as Arsenal were beaten 4-1 by fellow English finalists Chelsea. The season ended with many Arsenal fans hoping for a better next season but has it been so? The fact that many Arsenal fans want us to sack Unai Emery tells us all we need to know.
Arsenal football club is one of the biggest football club sides in the world but the way the club is being run, makes me doubt if we truly know how big a club we are, in the world of football. Big club sides around the world are known to have one trait, they are known to be ruthless decision takers! Arsenal is not ruthless and I say this with pain in my heart. If Emery were to be a coach of Chelsea or Man City, I am quite sure he would have been long gone by now. It is funny how the Arsenal board seems so comfortable backing a coach who has lost his ability to motivate his players at Arsenal. Emery is a good coach but at Arsenal, he seems to have lost his way. A parting of ways should be a good option for both Arsenal and Unai Emery at this juncture.
Raul Sanllehi recently came out on SkySports to tell the world that the Spaniard is still “the right man for the job” and they will not consider his future until next summer. This may be a good way to show the world that Arsenal is still unified, despite obvious problems, but if we are to tell ourselves the harsh truth, we need to sack Unai Emery now, or else we kiss our season goodbye.
Sylvester Kwentua