The pressure on Unai Emery may have lifted a little following the win over Aston Villa but it has not evaporated completely and the next six Premier League will be defining for the Spaniard.
Over the next six weeks, Arsenal will have the following EPL fixtures
30th Sept Manchester United v Arsenal
6th Oct Arsenal v AFC Bournemouth
21st Oct Sheffield United v Arsenal
27th Oct Arsenal v Crystal Palace
2nd Nov Arsenal v Wolves
9th Nov Leicester City v Arsenal
There are some real tests in there for Arsenal, if they play as they did in the second half against Villa then they could easily get between 15 and 18 points, if they play as they did against Watford in the second half then they could get nine or less.
Even the home games against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Wolves are not going to be easy, any of those three could get a result at the Emirates and the away games are going to be difficult no matter who the opponents are.
This is the period that will determine Unai Emery’s future in my opinion, if they are mid-table come the festive period then I can see the club firing him because not making the Champions League for yet another season is inconceivable and they cannot wait until it is too late to make a change.
We all know that there are issues with the team and while the manager persists with the likes of Xhaka and Luiz we remain vulnerable, even with the injured players returning.