Unai Emery didn’t exactly go out of his way to defend Granit Xhaka last week, not just stripping him of the captaincy but refusing to confirm if he would ever play for Arsenal again. Even when you consider there are two remaining Europa League ties where we play our fringe players it would have been easy enough for our manager to downplay the far-fetched notion that he’s put on an Arsenal shirt for the last time. Yet he didn’t….
The man himself was a lot more positive about his future saying, as quoted on SkySports: “I’ll continue to stay positive, give my all to an even greater extent and prove that I’m an important part of this great team”
He also told the Switzerland media the extend of support he’s had from his teammates, so it’s safe to say the dressing room won’t be agreeing with the idea of freezing out a midfielder who was so popular the majority voted to be their skipper.
There’s a lot of reasons gooners think we should change managers, but one of Unai’s biggest flaws is how easy it is for him to dismiss talent. If you consider the likes of Mustafi and Ozil, too many individuals are being paid thousands of pounds to just sit at home. The Spaniard shrugs this off but how many coaches do you know who suddenly just give up on players? It puts him in the minority, yet he does it regularly, even at PSG.
Players might divide opinion among fans but that’s allowed. It’s our job to sit in the pub and debate who’s good enough or not. It’s the coach’s role to work with what he’s got and get the best out of them. We are in an era where some owners won’t even give out the title of manager anymore. Recruitment, wages, youth development, etc, is dealt with by others. Unai’s work should be on the training pitch. He’s given the tools and is expected to train them, teach them new skills.
Look how a Pep and Klopp maximise every last ounce out of their squad. Liverpool haven’t got the most skilful midfield, but they have been coached where everyone knows their job. We know Ozil is on a reported 350,000 a week, let’s say Mustafi and Xakha minimum earn 100,000, it’s not okay to be freezing out resources that are that expensive. Especially when it’s your job criteria to get the best out of what you have.
The worse thing is these are players he trusted. The likes of Mustafi, he played regularly last season but who Emery has now given up on. Fans are allowed to do that. The person’s who’s job it is to coach him isn’t…
Dan Smith