The absolute minimum that Unai Emery must do or face the sack

Every Arsenal fan will have a different opinion on what is the absolute minimum expected from Unai Emery next season, some will expect simply finishing in the top four, some will say winning a trophy and no doubt some will say finishing above Tottenham but the chances are that the majority will agree there is a bottom line and anything below that should result in a change of manager.

I will not profess to speak for all Arsenal fans on this subject but what I will do is give an educated guess at what I feel the majority will find acceptable and keep Emery in his job.

I feel that progress on last season is the priority expectation and by that, I mean a defence that lets in fewer goals, far more points on the road and of course, qualification for the Champions League.

I do not feel it is an overriding expectation to challenge for the title, we are a realistic bunch and know our limitations at this stage but it is unacceptable if we do not at least close the gap.

I also do not think we care too much about winning silverware, of course, it would be nice to lift an FA Cup but the brutal truth is that now takes a distant second place to qualifying for the Champions League.

It would be very nice to finish above Tottenham but I do not feel it is anywhere near a sackable offence if we do not as long as we achieve our own goals.

To conclude, if Emery fails to show sufficient progress on last season and does not get us into the Champions League then I feel his position would become untenable and for the avoidance of doubt if Arsenal finished tenth and won the Europa League I would call for his removal because that is not sufficient progress.

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24 Comments

  1. He has to at least bring Arsenal back to a top four spot next season

    Small transfer budget shouldn’t be a reason to miss it, because Pochettino was able to be a CL runner-up without any signing

    1. That’s because Pochetino had more than two seasons to get his squad working to his tune.

      Listen one thing this article is not understanding is that we’re not Chelsea or Man Utd, we need to build a team with a philosophy and that takes time.

      All of you are acting like kids, constantly contradicting yourselves, complaining about us not having a budget like Chelsea or Man Utd but you want us to hold our manager and his vision like we’re Chelsea or Man Utd.

      Ridiculous Arsenal fans whining again, just be patient.

        1. A rational comment. Even Pep Guardiola can’t succeed if he doesn’t have the “cattle” to coach.
          So called “elite” coaches will laugh at an approach from Arsenal if not accompanied by a comparatively large transfer budget.

  2. With 5 teams: City,Liverpool, Spurs,Chelsea and United all having more quality players and bigger transfer budget than us, making Top 4 this season shouldn’t be an expectation but a possibility

    Making the top 4 with average players is not easy

    It will be tougher than last season. It will take at least two seasons to fix

    That said. If Emery doesn’t make good signings this summer and doesn’t improve us we should get another manager

    1. Chelsea are barred from buying players for two transfer windows so their transfer budget is irrelevant.
      Top four and a trophy, any trophy, even the league cup, is minimum for me.
      Oh, and with style, entertaining style. We have been painful to watch in his first season.

  3. Emery unfortunately is no improvement on wenger.he better make some quality signings(6-7).we should go for max Allegri what do you fans think?

    1. Under Wenger we were going in one direction only. Emery has got Wenger’s less than average squad of players and has had one year so not yet Emery’s team. Not Emery’s fault. If Kroenke not putting any money in what do you expect the club to do.

      1. As I’ve stated before you’re dreaming if you think Max Allegri would leave Italy and come to the Emirates without a massive pay cheque for himself and a similar comparatively large transfer budget.
        Then again the Arsenal board may see it as better to churn through coaches/managers, regardless of their quality, rather than spending funds where they are required to buy quality players. This apears to satisfy many on here: it’s not the lack in quality of the players, but the coach’s failure.

  4. Seriously Emery need to be sack,, we bring him to come and take us to top four position but he absolutely fail us!! I think Arsen Wenger is far far better than Emery.. Truth we can’t continue with him am disappointed on the coach not the team!

  5. We won’t make top 4 with this manager and this squad. Only an implosion of Spurs and Chelsea could change that but we won’t make it on our own strength.

      1. 6…..and how many in squad? There is still a lot that needs changing. The defence has been a problem for a long time. Wenger had enough time to do something about it. He never did. Emery been there less than a year. To sort out the mess we are in. It’s not Emery that should leave. Kroenke needs to go. He has no interest other than making money.

  6. The worst thing about Arsenal is not only the owner but the fans who can’t seem to get it through their heads that we can’t operate like a Man Utd, City, or a Chelsea.

    You fans love whining all the time, changing scapegoats every season but you never notice the real issue. It’s always SELL THIS GUY, BUY A WINGER BUY A DEFENDER.

    The issue is the team philosophy, tactics and strategy. Emery has been bought in to change it to something else and that takes time.

    What pisses me off is fans like Robbie from AFTV etc. falling to that same things every season and nothing changes.

    We need to be like Liverpool, Tottenham, Dortmund and Ajax, we need to build an identity from the ground up and that needs time, results will come in time

  7. Qualify for champions league….better defensive record….winning all home games against the top teams in all competitions….having more possession of the ball even if we lose the game….back to where Arsenal should be….that’s expectation….?

  8. We should come 1st in the ‘didn’t they do alright considering they ‘apparently’ have no money to buy players cup”

    If the owner does not invest anything of his own and remains a phantom and if ozil stays eating up the wage bill for doing sweet F.A the best we can hope for is a league or F.A (football association not the other;) cup run imo.

  9. When Arsene Wenger arrived at Arsenal there were some like Alex Ferguson and his friend Mike Riley knew what to expect but ‘kept mum’. The vast majority of English footy fans had no idea, being snugly wrapped in the belief that football outside England is inferior and therefore of no interest.

    At the start of Arsene Wenger’s first summer break we were alerted to the fact that ‘more changes ‘ were on the way, changes for the better. Though most of us could not have imagined just how better we were confident that our ‘new season hopes’ were this time well founded.

    At the end of June 2018 its Au revoir Arsene and ‘Ola Unai’ and we knew our Unai. It wans’t a case of ‘Unai who?’ We new his record the optimistic among us had reasons to be optimistic. Unlike Arsene he did not come to us as an ‘unknown’. We knew the man.

    We are in Unai’s first summer break. There are virtual 1001 opinions about Unia’s first season. As to the next season as usual ‘hope springs eternal for the next season but in contrast to Arsene Wenger’s first summer break we have no idea what to expect.

    Anyone’s guess is as good as anyone’s.

    1. A HISTORY LESSON WITHOUT A POINT OR CONCLUSION. NOT WRONG BUT IT TOLD US NOTHING. I MUST TELL YOU THOUGH, THAT “ANYONE” INCLUDES SOME BRIGHT FANS AND SOME REAL DIMWITS , SO I DO NOT AGREE WITH THAT LAST LINE. AMONG ALL CLUBS FANS THERE ARE DEEP THINKERS AND THERE ARE ALSO HASTY REACTIONARY FANS WHO DON’T ENGAGE THEIR BRAINS.

  10. Depending on the magnitude of the squad overhaul, I’d keep him until the end of his contract (I believe it’s 3 seasons, correct me if I’m wrong).
    If the club manages to bring in 5-7 players in both transfer windows, ESPECIALLY if they manage to get rid of the cash drainage system called OZIL and a bad swaMp deal that is draining 200k a week off the wages club could use to improve deals for Auba and Laca.
    Now, if a proper overhaul actually does happen, I believe it’s only fair that the gaffer gets another season to prove whether or not he’s got it in him to take HIS squad back into the top 4.
    If an overhaul doesn’t happen and Emery fails in getting back to top 4, then, yeah, I’d try with a different manager, someone who is capable of doing a sort of a “hair dryer” in the dressing room.

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