There is one massive reason Arsenal got thrashed last night in the Europa League final against Chelsea and that is the manager Unai Emery.
Now, I will say straight up I am not calling for him to be sacked or anything like that and I do believe that he needs at least one more season to try and build the team in his image but neither will I make any more excuses for him.
I know some will say that the owner Stan Kroenke has not supported Emery and they are right, some will say that he was let down by players like Ozil, Aubameyang and Lacazette in Baku and they are also right and I know some blame Arsene Wenger for the mess he left behind and again, they are right but none of them is to blame for what has happened at the end of the season, that is purely down to Emery.
You see, when we won eleven games in a row Emery had no support from Kroenke then, he was not relying on just our three main players then and it was still an inherited mess from Wenger. When we went 22 games unbeaten it was still the same players, the same lack of support from the board and Emery rightfully received all the plaudits and praise.
So when we then collapse so dramatically at the end of the season how can anyone then blame certain players, the owner and previous manager when no one was giving them all the credit for those unbeaten runs?
You cannot say when we win and are playing magnificently that it is all down to Emery but when we can’t buy a win and leak goals like a sieve that it is everyone else to blame except the manager.
Emery picks the team, he picks the formation, it is his job to motivate, to form a plan B, to build character, to incentivise, to instil confidence in the team, no one else.
How is it that a team that wins eleven games in a row ends the season in such an appalling manner?
How is it that a team with the easiest run in ends up with one of the worst results?
How is it that a team that has been rested for three weeks then looks so tired in a final?
I could go on and on and on but I think you get the picture.
The buck stops with the manager and the time for excuses is over with, Emery has to shoulder the responsibility for and consequences of what has transpired over the last two months and if anyone wants to go down the road of blaming Kroenke, Wenger, Ozil, Mustafi or Brenda the cleaner that is their prerogative but then do not be surprised if nothing changes because I tell you this, unless Emery improves his consistency next season, it will get worse.