Emery should not be immune from criticism by Dan Smith
Throughout the season I have used the term, ‘things change yet stay the same.’ Many fans verbally abused the greatest manager in our history, finally getting their way and forcing him out of the club. As we go into 2019, the grass isn’t proving any greener as Unai Emery is equally struggling to finish in the top 4. Yet fans reaction to our humiliation at Anfield is to yet again blame Wenger, the man who left 7 months ago.
Apparently, it will take a couple of years for his bad habits to fade away. Of course, no one was saying that when we went 22 games unbeaten. So, in other words when we win Emery is proving the world wrong, but when
he’s doing exactly the same as what wasn’t deemed acceptable under our old boss, he’s immune from criticism.
Could it not be there is a section of our fan base who campaigned for this to such a point they are now too proud to admit that it’s the owner who’s the problem. No matter who sits in the dugout won’t change they are working for a man with zero ambition. Regular readers will know this is not me reacting to a lousy Christmas, Iha ve always questioned if Unai Emery was truly the best possible candidate we could have got. When Ivan Gazidis said the Spaniard was always first choice, I argued if the criteria was based on finding the best possible man to make us champions or someone who for the sake of getting a job was willing to tolerate such a limited budget. Would Luis Enrique or a Carlo Ancelotti accepted 50 million to build a squad who had finished 6th?
If we are now saying we are willing to accept Emery finishing 5th, where was the need to change the manager?
Now some of you want to use Kroenke as an excuse yet 12 months ago wouldn’t hear the same argument. Many said that the old regime didn’t coach, sat on the bench playing with his coat and played his ‘favourites’. So how come we are exactly in the same position when all that is gone? Don’t, out of pride, back a manager if you know he’s just another yes man because we will continue to waste years with the gap getting bigger.
Emery hasn’t defensively improved us.
His line ups are less attacking.
He has chosen to let Ramsey leave.
He is choosing not to play Ozil.
That’s not Arsene Wenger’s fault. Like Emery, Wenger had to work for an American who only cares about getting
into the Champions League. Kroenke proved that by getting a man PSG didn’t want, who wouldn’t have got another top job.
When we drew with Liverpool at home, many boasted Wenger wouldn’t have got that result (he did). On Saturday Emery got the same drubbing Wenger got. In January we night get Cahill purely based on him being cheap. Meanwhile one of our best players will join a top 4 rival. So, one more time, things change yet stay the same. Just because you didn’t rate Wenger, doesn’t mean Emery’s the answer. He still has a duty to coach and pick the best line-up possible. When he isn’t doing that, he’s not immune from criticism just because he’s Arsene Wenger’s replacement.
He, at times, is playing 5 at the back and 3 defensive midfielders. He is picking Iwobi ahead of Ramsey and Ozil. These are all mistakes that we shouldn’t be afraid to point out.
If you think Wenger had to leave then fine but it doesn’t mean Emery gets a free pass.
Dan Smith
But wenger left this team. He failed with it in his last 2 seasons, finished 5th and 6ths consecutively.
I think 80% of all the loser players are wengers. Emery himself should be blamed for not showing that much improvement. But I would blame him with caution until he gets a reasonable summer transfer or two to get his own players then all the blame and criticism toward him will be 100% deserved.
Do you know what restrictions wenger was working under ?no you don’t .
And saying loserplayers really shows you’re age
Well written Dan
I’m not to proud to admit I wanted wenger replaced ,but I’ve said on here the last couple weeks that emery’s been here
Long enough to sort this mess out ,like I’ve pointed out it as nothing to do with wenger now ,emery signed 5 defensive players and our defence looks worse now than it ever as done.
I think most fans understand it’s the owner who’s holding us back but it always falls on the managers head .
Fans calling for him to be sacked because of a few bad games really need to grow up aswell .
The thing is we as fans never know what’s going on in that board room and there lies the problem
Emery has minimum say in transfers now…Compare Emery’s first season to klopp’s first one at Liverpool..Also it is a different style of play compared to what Wenger was playing.It takes time to bed in…Yes Wenger worked under a tight budget..but at that time the premier League was not as competitive as it is right now.. Emery will improve this Arsenal team..but one area at a time..By the way arsenal do lack a CB who can play out from the back.. Holding was the best one arsenal had..His injury has hit really hard on arsenal defence..
Xxnofx
Seasonal greeting
I agree with some parts and totally disgreee with other.
To say our new manager has enough time to work his magic on a defensive back line which has been failing for us for many a years is a big call.
Defence my friend starts from the front. Midfield and then back.
I will not say who needs to go as every one has there own opinon on this but we all agree some players must go as they are not fit to wear our colours.
This will take time and a few transfer windows
The big question is how much money will he be given by the board. By past action of the board or should i say owner… Very little ,which means the quality of player he can attract will be less superior then we expect as fans.
Is he the right.man for the job. Time will tell and for me not my first choice but when announced I was over the moon.
He’s a winner and is slowly instilling it in to some of our players. The rest who don’t understand wii need to be moved on.
Was a poor display from the players and manager I thought against pool but we have over achieved in the last few months. May we continue to over achieve in the next few months. Will take a bad result in 20 plus games any day of the week.
For the fans who are calling for his head so early..go get a life and and support someone who craves pitty and misery, someone like the spuds..only joking..they are past pitty
Considering our squad if we finish 5th or 6th this season. Won’t be happy but so be it as I have seen a vast improvement on attitude. Aptitude,hard work and togetherness..sure there is.more but traits that have been missing from our sides for a long team.
We are slowly hardening our soft belly ..be patient. Rome wasn’t built in a day.
Happy new year to everyone
Well, few managers go into a new team and immediately have it do wonders.. unless the team has a good amount of very outstanding players. Wenger had been with the players for very long. He understood them much better than Emery does. He didn’t need to experiment on formations. Wenger was SOLELY RESPONSIBLE for the decline of Arsenal. If he would have gotten a DM, good GK (rem Almunia with Fabianski as sub), good strikers in time, we would be a mighty team now. But because of him, we have players that underperform more often than not hence need a huge clear out.
Even players said how under wenger they were not getting customized training for individuals. Wenger is to blame.
Agreed. Whilst Wenger left a bad team. Unai emry has not added any value. And arguably in recent games has decreased the value. We are now playing like a lower he is team. Defensive and no attacking power. It’s a real shame I think emry can do alot more and hopefully will in time. We saw some real sparks at the start of the season and I hope we get that back. I questions a friend who is also a gooner who complained that fans are too harsh on emry. I asked why emry has been making a choice to play xaka in CB when most of us know he is poor in CM defensively. Why is lacca not starting why is he not playing CF with aubambayang on the left like at the start of the season when we were killing it. Why no ozil and Ramsey. Yes they are leaving but who cares we don’t have other options? Why not blood youngsters? There is alot of why’s that are quite obvious and this is where the frustration is creeping in.
Yes the frustration is creeping in….. won’t be long before the ? hits the fan ?
@SBG
I can answer the Xhaka part. He believes Xhaka has the height and aerial prowess similar to a CB. Also, what is very important to Emery, is his players playing out and being comfortable in possession. The fact that Xhaka was described as a CDM also comes into it, as well as us being low on numbers and the quality back there. I also guess, not that I seen, that he had tactics with his team shape which was supposed to help Xhaka not be exposed. I don’t agree with them, the reasons, because CB is a specialist position, esp against top PL sides.
The Lacazette one is the one that really baffles me. Like you said, we where tearing it up, then the partnership got broken up and we began drawing and losing games. I just hope that it doesn’t cause further damage, if they start wondering about what they were doing wrong when together, or overthink, how they played as a lone striker. It wasn’t because of rest, it was purely tactical, and what Emery seen with the result didn’t detour him from doing it. He might be a little on the stubborn side, yep, he’s stubborn – EOB will soon be posting about how quick they were to call for his head, while believing it’s a good thing.
Ozil, I get his reasons but I would’ve liked Ozil being a bit more involved. One stat tells us everything on this. Arsenal have ran more sprints than any other side this season, not just miles but actual sprints. In this department, Emery has improved Arsenal. I wonder what it would be like if we had a huge upgrade in quality, and our squad wasn’t a small one. You’d have to think that this could pay off, this is the same stat that Klopp ran away with after arriving. Every season, I heard them talking about Liv doing more running than any other side. Now that they have better defenders and a bigger squad, the possession is better and they don’t fall like flies eventually.
Ramsey one I couldn’t tell you. I don’t like him just behind the strikers. Ramsey’s danger is his late running from CM and putting confusion in defenders minds. Take that away, is like saying, take Auba’s goals away. Or take Sokratis aggression away, or take Iwobi’s dribbling away, or take Ozil’s first touch away. You cannot take away a players strongest attribute and expect a good result.
The part about blooding younger players. I am surprised that Smith R has not gotten a little first team football. Pity about the young defenders. Nelson looks like he could’ve been handy to have here, but it is prob better for his development that he gets that game-time, so I won’t knock them. But we do need to see some come to the fore, problem is, if they play well what would that do to our transfer budget. An already nervous looking transfer budget, such is the divide and such is our hopes.
22 unbeaten run was MASSIVELY OVERRATED. Imagine going 22 matches unbeaten and find yourself still at 5th. Because that’s what Emery did.
In my books, Emery hasn’t achieved anything yet. I didn’t praise him during that unbeaten streak, but he has to be given time now that things aren’t going well. Next month’s transfer dealings will be crucial.
It is still Wenger’s team no doubt. Players Emery brought:
Torreira has been fantastic
Guendouzi and Sokratis above average
Leno average
Lichsteiner horrendous
Let’s see how he fares in the winter window and how the team performs in the spring.
So far, I would rate Emery 5/10 which in my books is average, as we are in the same position with Emery’s first mid-season as we were with Wenger’s 22nd mid-season.
About that 50m part. It’s these next two windows I am more interested in. Emery and most other managers, will have to look at the players he has first and the only way to do that is by using them. Even Pep went easy in his first season compared to what followed. Same goes for Che manager that one the league, and Sarri, so I don’t get some of what is said in the article. Klopp spent soon as he arrived, but it turned out some of the players he already had were better than the ones he brought in. LT and Leno, the bulk of the budget went on them two. People are using Klopp’s time as a metre stick, for us it could be slower. I remember Liv before Klopp arriving spending hundred million or more at different times, they had two big spends under Rodgers, raided Southampton. And now, how much was spent in this last season or two, over two hundred mil of talent arrived this season. People can talk about players they sold bringing money in but that’s not it. We sold players over the seasons and it never got added to an already maximum budget outlay. We were lucky if we got to spend the money that came in, for us it was about balancing sheets. We have no ambition compared to Liv, I wish we did but we don’t. That Liv owner is also an American billionaire that doesn’t do it the Che way or the city way, he has ambitions though. Kroenke has been the real cancer to this club, he doesn’t know football, has no passion for it. Cannot make the necessary decisions, hopefully Raul will but the problem is that the owner holds most power. Wenger was unfortunate to have worked under a board like the one he had, people say ..but he should’ve spoke up more or he was too comfortable accepting our standards being lowered. They forget how much he loved this club and still does, they forget how much belief he has in himself and the people around him, which is one of reasons why he was so successful early on. The timeline people use to bash Wenger, people are missing a beat with it, that timeline does point to something, and it is blatantly obvious.
?In addition, unlike Arsene Wenger who appeared to quietly acquiesce to the lack of financial support from the owner/board in the transfer market at least in public, Unai Emery will walk. He is well credentialed, respected by his peers and young enough to move on from Arsenal. The football world knows the owner is the reason why Arsenal continues to under perform given the comparative riches of the club.
Raul Sanhall and Sven Mislantat will be also difficult to retain if they have to battle with restricted resources.
Btw, after Klopp was appointed in October 2015, Pool was 10th. They finished 8th that season, 6 points off 5th Place. They also made it to Europa League final, losing to Emery’s Sevilla.
However, during that Premier League season, Klopp managed to result:
Man City away 1-4
Chelsea away, 1-3
Tottenham away, 0-0
Arsenal home, 3-3
Man City home, 3-0
Chelsea home, 1-1
Tottenham home, 1-1
United home, 0-1
So on his first incomplete season, he managed to win Man City TWICE, Chelsea once, drew Spurs twice and Arsenal once. 13/24 points against Top 5 teams. What he failed at was beating “smaller” teams. So even with Mignolet in goal, Henderson in midfield and Sturridge in front, Klopp managed some great results.
Emery so far has:
Lost to Chelsea, away
Lost to City, home
Lost to Pool, away
Drew Pool, home
Won Spurs, home
Drew United, away
That’s 5/18 points. Not that impressive. Is our squad worse than Liverpool’s 15/16 squad?
Hi,
First time commenter and just a heads up, I didn’t want us to get rid of Wenger last year, especially in the manner we did. Preferably he would have seen out his contract.
I say that because while I agree that we should not give Emery a free pass for the errors he makes (I do not get why Lacca and Auba aren’t starting together for example, unless it is simply due to a lack of quality cover up front following Welbz injury) we also cannot expect him to fix everything in 6 months.
It took both Pep and Klopp 3-4 seasons and heavy investment to get things right and in (arguably) both cases they started with a better 25 than we have and, lets be honest, more money.
The summer signings (and last years as well) were to plug immediate gaps in weak positions (LB last year, RB, CB and DM this year) not necessarily bringing in long term solutions in all cases. It’s also a question of how many of those signings were ‘Emery’s’ and how many were Gazidis’ considering they were pretty much all wrapped up early.
Both Guendouzi and Torreria are longer term options, being 19 and 22 respectively, where Licth and Papa are there for more immediate impact and to assist in the dressing room.
I also think losing Holding over xmas has been a disaster (he was our best defender before his injury IMO).
Emery hasn’t been perfect, but at times he’s shown capability and tactical nuance. I also like how he is with the players behind the scenes (from the feedback we get from players/coaches etc.) And on matchday on the byline.
I think judging him this year, too harshly, is unfair and stick with my opinion from the start of the season that there are 5 teams in the league with a better squad than ours. So anything above 6th is really a bonus.
Next year however, we will expect more and will expect to see any money gained from sales (which there will be 5-6 of over the next few months at least) is spent on improving our 25.
And then if we don’t improve we should relook at this ‘project’ for certain.
I think we are all missing the point here & that is that we are still in transition from Wengers 22 years at the helm to Unais new methods to date in under6months. The man couldn’t speak a word of English at the start of his tenure so we all need to be patient with the whole plan going forward & that’s seeing who is in the club already that can step up to the plate & play the way he wants the team to play or they can’t and will be shipped out the door.
After that sales of players out happens, As does player transfers into the club to fit into Emerys system. We obviously need reinforcements to the squad & dead wood gone so now the spotlight is on Stan Kronke releasing funds for the 3wise men to spend to add on to the players sales pot.
The unbeaten run wasnt anything to brag about it was alot of luck & maybe what we needed to find our mojo again as a team again. We also need these sort of defeats to bring us all down to earth again that it will take time, Top4 is there but things havnt went so good the last few games in the league which shows Stan that we need investment on the pitch as we are not strong enough. Europa League is a great opportunity, Emerys favourite competition & we have a small chance so why Not!
If Ozil & Ramsey are leaving so be it but we need creativity in the team so supply Aubameyang & Lacazette, who should be starting every game up top, as they need help up there. Don’t know whats going on behind the scenes but we need answers this window about our own top players commitments to the club. If they want to go then go but they need replaced along with a RB, CB, RW brought in. Interesting to see what Arsenal do though injuries to Holding, Welbz, Monreal & “Ozil” hasn’t helped matters.
Emery as a “Coach” has not been impressive.
No defensive improvement, or awareness at all. His idea of improvement is playing 5 at the back not 4 it seems. Defense was poor before the injury crisis, so not buying that excuse.
Thought he had a reputation for tactics? Non-existent against Liverpool; he looked stunned and bereft of ideas against Liverpool. So he benches Laca, starts out of form Lichtsteiner, and game plan is to trade punches trying to play like Liverpool?
Who was surprised when that didn’t work? Emery apparently.
We’ve lost the directness in our play, passing has slowed down, and we’re even seeing the endless sideways and backpassing we all dread.
We’ve addressed the DM issue with Torreria, and striker issue with Laca and Auba. However defense is still a big concern, midfield can’t control a game and struggles to create with any consistency, often starving our forwards. No wingers, forcing us to play through the middle constantly, making us predictable to opponents.
3 Windows should show what Emery can do; by next Summer in terms of players, philosophy, and improving the youth and defensive unit.
What is worrying me is there doesn’t seem to be a pattern with emery either that or the players can’t/ don’t understand it
The defence is a shambles Leno is average at best
Koch is shocking
Torreira is decent but can’t do it alone ( imagine him and dacoure together )
Laca is better than Auba but hardly ever starts
Miki is average
Ozil doesn’t seem bothered
Xhaka isn’t mobile enough for the prem
And I havnt even talked about the owner who doesn’t care one bit
Or the fans who continually pay £2000 for season tickets to watch garbage then moan about the performances and then say the dare not give up the season ticket because someone else with have it
Nothing has changed at the club it’s only about the £££££
Laca’s goal return is no where near Auba’s but you’d prefer him to lead the line. Another stupid comment.
Kenny I know it’s difficult to read big words when you’re throwing so much money away on your season ticket ?
I didn’t say instead of
I said he’s a better player aubas return is better than VVD but I know who we need more
Happy new year
@ Durand
Mate your one funny guy when bring across the truth ?????
The truth as i see anyway. 5 months and not a bit of defensive improvement. In fact, they continue to repeat the same mistakes over and over. I don’t expect Emery to make average defenders world class, but I do expect a coach to cut out rookie mistakes after 5 months in charge.
Chambers seems to be excelling as DM at Fulham, so he can be good rotation with Torreria next year. I think our most urgent concern is lacking wingers. This January window will tell a lot about Emery.
Squad clearly not good enough, and interesting to see how Emery deals with this transfer window. Winger a must, top CB even if it means moving Mustafi, and either fix defensive by coaching or fire Bould and find someone who will.
If he doesn’t want to pair Laca, and bench Ozil, that’s his decision. However, then it’s up to him to find quality and get results with the players he chooses. That’s a fair criticism; he inherited the squad from Wenger, but it’s Emery that plays these underperformers, the tactics. Yes he got a poor back 4 from Wenger, but their lack of improvement falls squarely on him alone, period. Big Sam can teach defending and fight off relegation, so Emery certainly should be able to as well.
I hear fans on here talking about this 3 season that’s needed for rebuilding
So are all the other top club going to become static while Emery gets his chance to catch up
We were winning FA cups and barely slipt out of the top four
Lots of fans and pundit thought 3 to 4 good pieces were what we were short on
Now this new fantasy of getting a oil rich owner before you can compete
ALL WE CAN HOPE FOR AT ARSENAL IS A PROPER COACH WHO EVERY PLAYER RESPECT AND PLAY THERE HEARTS OUT FOR
If city doesn’t win the premier League or the Champions League this season guardiola might leave..that might cause City some problems
Also Pochettino might leave Spurs in the summer..
If that happens we can expect a mass exodus from Spurs…
My big concern is Emery’s man management skills.I find his handling of Lacca a bit disturbing. Lacca is a good footballer, intelligent and a good football brain.He works hard for the team and gives 100%. It seems Emery has lost faith in him and I wonder why. Perhaps Lacca has questioned his tactics and his role in them. Maybe Emery has said, do it this way because I say so, Lacca has reacted as intelligent people do to tis kind of response. Perhaps Emery feels his authority is being questioned and has reacted by limiting Laccat mainly substitute appearances. The pointless 15 minutes at Liverpool, 4-1 down’ what did he want Lacca to do score 5 goals. The way things are Lacca’s confidence will be undermined and if things do not change Lacca will be gone in the summer.
?
The fact is, we are marginally better points wise and position wise this year, than we were last year after 20 games in the PL.
So you could just as well say, we have replaced the greatest manager in our history with one equally as good 🙂
It is also a fact, that given Wenger’s age, we would have to replace him sometime soon, if it wasn’t before this season.
Emery has taken over without a lot of problems, as we have not gone backwards. He has a proven winning track record, and he should be given respect and patience.
It is his first season with all the players and he came without PL experience.
The long unbeaten spell we had, made for unrealistic expectations and combined with the fact, that Spurs are doing very well (they have 8 points more than last year), we picture our own situation worse, than it is.
There is still time to mount a real challenge for top 4, and to take further steps to improve even more and eventually become title challenger within 3-4 years.
That is a realistic plan.
? AndersS, thank you for a well reasoned, rational post.
I read the headline and didn’t bother with the article or the comments, I’m just replying to the headline………. Because Emery has had to put up with the dross and lackadaisical attitude around the club that Wenger left behind him, has had one window with just £70 million to spend and whilst spending wisely on Guendouzi and Torriera, wasted money on Lichtsteiner and to a certain extent on Sokratis, who will be booked 10 times a season. The jury is still out on Leno. I backed Wenger till the end but soon realised he should have been replaced 8 years ago. I fell in love with his style of football even when we were losing but it is now blatantly bloody obvious that it will take a lot of money and at least a couple of transfer windows to sort this mess out. I don’t blame Emery for where we are today but am not sure he is the long term answer to getting us back to the top.
@ Declan
Would just like to ask you if you think Emery was blind folded before getting the job he must have watched the players and have to have had some form of vision before accepting the job. A mean surely in his interview he didn’t say the current first eleven is Doomed
People will tell themselves what they want to believe, and they’ll be very persuasive. I’m no different. But telling other people to not believe what they want to believe, now that is a task, I have yet to see someone being successful at it.
DAN , One immensely important facy you failed to mention ,eithe through carelesness od through design, was that Wenger had 22 years here with little to writ home about after the first decade. Emery has had a proberbial five minutes and was left a shell pof a defence bY Wenger, gazidis and Kroenke. But of those three, ONLY Wenger chose to do no obvious defensive coaching with no even adequate DM for a whole decade, since Gilberto left. I believe that Emery is paying the unfair price for the stale dross left behind by WeNGER and G and K. Fans had becomedo sick of Wenger not qualifying for the last two CL’s and seeing that drif further and further (in points) away from top four. Emery was given a amer pittancde by Kroebke and unfairly expected to put the joke defenc eright with that pittancde. He correctly broughty in a proper DM , in Torreira and mended the decade long hole disgracefully left unfilled ALL THAT TIME by WENGER. There was no reql money left to do much else except shop in thr free transfer and bargain basement market, whci he woudl surely rather havenot done . He had NO choice, yet you and many others are turning on a fine mamnager who has done really well , given the awful tools at his disposal to work with. Of course Emery has made mistakes in selection , shape and subs,. No rational fan denies that BUT he has done a great deal too to instill passion, fight (even among the hopeless players) and pride in the shirt. Yes, we got our second thumping of the season at Liverpool, the first being City in August. BUT LOOK AT WHO WE HAD AVAILABLE , esp in defence! No Holding, a half fit Mustafi, no Bellerin, a half fit and past it Kos, a more suited to wrestling than football Sokratis and past it Licht. No Monreal either. And ALL those are hardly even adequate when fully fit, Holding apart. Also no Mavrop, who has shown , in the glimpes we have seen, SOME promise. Players of necessity played out of position too, eg Xhaka, AM-N. I say to those panicking fans who are ALREADY AND STUPIDLY calling for Emery’s head, to put your brain into gear, take a deep breath , play fair and THINK who could have done better given the dross in defence and those injuries. NOT PEP, NOT POCH, NOT KLOPP! Just three weeks ago most of you panicking fans were lauding Emery for a 22 match unbeaten run and my how you have changed your tune and panicked. I have little time for people who react with emotive words that have ZERO thought behind them. I DO however love to debate with thinking fans who just happen to diagree with me , having THOUGHT first. By all means disagree; that is right, natural and what must be expected by ALL on here. But at least think, REALLY THINK FIRST. And be fully aware that our REAL PROBLEM IS KROENKE! HE is the one you should all direct your anger against, NOT Emery
Jon, can you explain your thoughts when saying:
“with little to write home about after the first decade”
THEN
“fans had become sick of wenger not qualifiying for the last two CL”
Surely qualifiying for the CL in eight of the ten seasons would at least warrant a paragraph in the annuls of the History Of Arsenal wouldn’t it?
Don’t forget this was accomplished with dross, weedy, clueless, overpaid players receiving no coaching, discipline and kronkie at the helm.
I won’t even mention top four or fa cup wins with this team of misfits.
Ohhh isn’t it amazing how the proper defender from juventus who should be starting ahead of clueless weak,and joke bellerin is killing it in EPL and he’s now showing every other defender in EPL how to defend? Ohh isint it a miracle that the proper coach who @ least knows how to coach defenders, who has VN coaching the coachless players for the past 6 months has now made our defense worst and its now amazing that we v conceded more goals after 20 matches than we v conceded in the last 52 years, after investing over 70m pounds on 5 defensive minded players, its still Wenger’s dross and his coachless players that r responsible for our shambolic defense, isint it also a miracle that the coachless arsenal under a tactless manager were just lucky enough to give us 8 champions league football in the last 10 years, and for that same period apart ftom last season,the coachless team was the 3rd meanest defense in the league only behind man u and Chelsea, ohh what a miracle and to crown it all under the proper coach we now look bereft of ideas going forward and absolutely look clueless in defense, shat a miraculous world!
our former manager, you know the one i mean, the one who was given the order of the boot, and correctly so, in my opinion is still haunting us . there are people on here who will defend him to the death. until he is forgotten and the last of his dross players are shippped out we will not win anything, regardless of who our manager is . move on , move up people. he is now counting his millions and laughing at us all .
ger burke, I think you have forgotten we did actually win something with this manager who’s salary was paid for by qualifiying every year for the CL until he resigned following two years of failure.
Just to remind you, the years of “dross players” also had continuous top four finishes and three fa cup wins.
Of course he’s laughing at you, after all, you thought everything was down to him and now it’s plain to see that it wasn’t, but you carry on believing, while kronkie laughs all the way to the bank counting his millions!!
I was giving Emery a free pass for the first few months, our first two games might have been losses but I didn’t care, it was Emerys first games in the EPL.
I have called it the honeymoon period, for me, this period of time is now over and I am wanting to see more improvement than coaching… Otherwise why is he the manager and not just a coach???
For me, I am starting to think of Emery as the poor Spanish Jose.
He stifles creativity, we may have scored more but those goals appear to be more drilled out hard work than off the cuff creativity. We trained for them in the training ground. While it is nice to watch the team score, that training ground hard work can be countered by teams with training and hard work. We are seeing this against some of the lower teams who do not have the talent we do yet they counter and frustrate us.
I am frustrated at seeing Ozil either injured or not picked, I know he is a player that infuriates some with lack of gut busting sprints to track back and prob Emery as well… but he offers a lot going forward, if we can make the most out of him then we can see why Ronaldo got so upset at seeing him sold! Same for Laca, if we can get the best out of him then we are looking at a guy who has scored so many goals that he would walk into any top team, his biggest unknown issue was could he perform outside of France and we have seen him perform when the tactics allow him to play.
For me, those two are our biggest chance creators in the final third, how often do either one of them play a whole game?
The honeymoon period is over for me. Julian Nagelsmann is doing well by Nelson isn’t he? Should we wait and give Emery 3 seasons or should we ask ourselves at the end of this season if we are happy and if not, well… Julian Nagelsmann?
Or how about Enrique? Raul wanted him butt Gazidis blocked that due to money… Raul is incharge now… If Emery hasn’t produced by end of this season then how about Enrique?
The original question was “why are Arsenal fans still blaming Wenger for Emery’s failures”?
MOST of the fans, those of us who are sensible, on here are not actually doing that Dan are they?
This man, AW, WHO WAS A CONTROL FREAK AND HAD COMPLETE CONTROL OF EVERYTHING AT THE CLUB, now seems a shadow of the despot some claimed he was, as fans are starting to question situations that should have disappeared when he resigned:
Such as:
Why does that second rate transfer kitty only get you second rate players…or “dross” as some on here still call them.
It’s incredible that nobody realised this before under AW, but at least it is now being recognised under UE.
I have no actual proof, but I’ve been counting the responses since mid-day.
The second point to make is that, once again, the claim that AW was responsible for the almighty cock-ups in transfer dealings was completely false. Ramsey going for nothing has confirmed that hasn’t it?
The fans are now realising that it couldn’t have been AW and, of course, want to know why they were misled by those who thought they knew the answers.
Perhaps those who made these accusations will stand up and explain?
The third point to make is that AW wasn’t responsible for all the injuries that kept reccuring during his time and the results that happened because of that.
the fans can now see just how hard it is to put out a team against another top club and not be humiliated.
Also the medical team under Wenger was not responsible for the time it took to get players fit again, another ridiculous claim despite there being no proof whatsoever of course..
The fifth point to make is the fans can now see that Emery has brought dross weedy so called defenders that have no clue how to defend, get booked on a regular basis and aren’t coached in any way whatsoever.
Why has he done this, when it was proved AW did it and failed?
Oh yeah thats right…kronkies transfer budget.
The sixth point to make is that Emery also has his favourite players who he chooses and then plays them out of position AND doesn’t pick the right players.
AMN at full back, Iwobi on the wing, dropping Lacs, dropping Ozil, not playing the youngsters.
We were told only AW did this because he hadn’t a clue and yet….does anyone REALLY BELIEVE that a professiona manager would have “favourites”?
Only if it’s AW of course!!
The final point to make is that AW, supposedly, left a “dross weedy” group of useless players that UE studied and suppposedly stated at his interview for the job that they were a very good squad, having finished sixth despite all the above points going on.
He proceeded to spend his budget on five defensive players to improve that group of players and proceeded to go on atwenty match unbeaten run.
THEY PRAISED EMERY FOR HIS LEADERSHIP, COACHING, TACTICS AND TOUGHNESS AND HOW DIFFERENT IT WAS UNDER THE PREVIOUS DINASOUR CLUELESS MANAGER.
So AT LAST AW has left, the new dawn has arrived and the fanbase will back UE for at least three seasons…the unbeaten run showed just how useless AW and his “dross signings” were and the world is our oyster…BUT WAIT…we lose our way and suffer a humiliating defeat at anfield and suddenly…
IT’S BACK TO BASHING WENGER, EMERY’S HAS NO IDEA AND….wait for it…THE OTHER REASON THAT NO-ONE TOOK INTO ACCOUNT…SEASON TICKET HOLDERS ARE TO BLAME AS WELL!!!
That awful fan Kenny Rolfe ( amongst others ) has the audacity to spend his own money following the club he supported for decades instead of leaving his seat empty…the one he paid money for!!
If only he could see the light all our ills would disappear and kronkie would hand our club back. Come on kenny, where’s your loyalty?
Just another day in the life of Arsenal fans finding excuses for the failings of others, rather than facing the fact that until Kronkie goes or backs his manager(s)
any scapegoat will do, as long as it’s Arsene Wenger.
Happy New Year To ALL fellow Gooners, whatever your beliefs and thoughts!!
I’m with you Ken-it’s all the fault of Kenny Rolfe.
Bl**dy Hell Phil,
That took me half an hour to compose and all I get is a one liner reply!!!
Cheapskate!! – Happy New Year to You and Yours.
Happy New Year to you all as well Ken.And let’s all hope that 2019 brings us supporters all we wish for.Ozil back in the starting line up would be a good start????
The way Arsenal fsns on here go on about a coach, who has only been here for half a season after following a manager of 22 years tenure, makes me wonder who would want to follow Emery if he leaves?
U r soooo spot on ken, I still believe that there is a standing order among our fans for some years now to blame Wenger for all the negatives, and praise others for the positives,beat a team 5;0 today,its either Sanchez was amazing or ozil killed it for us lose the match the next day, Wenger is an idiot,Wenger has lost it,Wenger has nothing to offer again,etc wasn’t even surprised when they blamed Wenger for our recent failures, should Iwobi have a good game today, ohh emry have improved him,he’s now a different player under emry Buh let him have a poor game the next match, the blame will still go to Wenger, when xhaka was deployed to defense,we became sooo horrible in that mildfied that every one called for xhaka to be recalled to his original position, Buh after one or two poor games they will blame Wenger for buying him,it has bn the hypocrisy of most fans here, i gave up when they demonized the fa cup simply because Wenger won it 3 times in for years, the fa cup suddenly became a useless trophy that big teams don’t even want in their cabinet,,they will always tell us that Wenger has neglected the defence for a decade now and I ask, are these guys really arsenal fans? Or do we have short memory? @ a stage few years back kossienly and matersacker were the best defensive combo in the league, for over 2 year arsenal did not lose any match in which both of them started and finished the game,, koscienly was nicknamed bossienly here, torriera has bn a massive addition to the team, Buh any one who said he’s our best DM since Gilberto left did not watch ALEX SONG before he left for Barcelona, dude was soooo dorminant in that middle and clearly one of the very best in the league, he’s trade mark long range passes to van persie that resulted into a couple of goals will always be a delight to watch, dude was very strong in that middle and harrases opposition with reckless abandon,break plays and initiates attacks, torriera is clearly yet to reach such levels, what of flamini of the class of 2008? Flamini playing @ the base of a strong mildfied 4 of cecs,rosicky and helb were clearly our best midfield combo in the last decade,we all knew how they missed winning the league with that edurado?’s heartbreaking injury, injury to RVP @ a very crucial time that leaves adebayor as our only available striker who after shaving his hair became a real shadow of himself and we lost out to united, they were the last ream that took us to champions league semi finals loosing out also to a united of c Rinaldo Rooney and the Argentine beast leading the line,,during the 22 matches unbeaten run,even despite being very terrible in some of those matches, no one praised Wenger for assembling such a strike force,it was all emry tactical genius,just few poor results,Wenger ghost have come back to hunt them, seriously i have a big fear that emry is gradually loosing the dressing room and am not seeing him long term though, I really hope for the best for our dear club Buh the sings r not looking great!!! Now that the stingy old man who lacks ambition, and who has clearly lost his way in coaching has gone who is now responsible for arsenal not signing the likes if mbape,beyner,hazards,isco,etc of these world,or don’t we need those calibre of players again?
To look at it simplisticly, Wenger ran the club. He recruited players and managed on-field performances.In the recent years, his recruitment of players was awful. Arsenal’s current wages are within GBP1 million of Liverpool’s. Which squad has more quality and depth? The transition of off the field to the new team just started in the summer.
Over the past five years, Wenger had plenty of money to spend but just was not great at identifying players that could bring the squad to the next level. Other than Aubemeyang, recent purchases include Mustafi 35 million, Xhaka 30-35 million, Lacazette 50 million, Sanchez 40 million and Ozil 45 milion. Mustafi has declined in value, Xhaka and Lacazette stagnated in value, while Sanchez was allowed to leave for less than half of what we should have received. Ozil’s value has declined because he is wages are well above what he contributes on the field. Given the squad’s wages, and value. It is pretty hard to argue that Wenger added any value in recruitment and it seems he destroyed a lot of value as Arsenal has taken a step back.
On the field, it is a little harder to argue. Emery has made some mistakes but it is his first year in the Premier League. Wenger was making the same mistakes year after year after year. Given his newness to the league, Emery should get a bit more of a pass.
If you were unable to see Wenger was hurting the club and are now pouting, it seems you are more of a fan of Arsene than Arsenal.
Please, do you have facts to justify your claim?
The facts to justify my claim are in the first paragraph. According to Sportrac, Arsenal’s wages are almost identical to Liverpool’s. According to Transfermarkt, the market value of their squad is roughly 950 million compared to roughly 600 millioin for Arsenal. Wenger handled all duties on and off the pitch. He gave wages to inferior players. Recruitment was the significant issue hurting the club.
Recruitment duties were taken from him. Could he continued with on-field duties for the last year of his contract, maybe but the situation became so toxic due to his mishandling of recruitment and perceived lack of tactics, he had to go.
The problem is Kroenke, who defines success purely in terms of business goals. AW worked within that large constraint, and while achieving much ultimately could not defend against the spending power of the Manchester teams, Chelsea and Liverpool. Emery will do no better. The choice is between 6th to 10th on a permanent basis or forcing Kroenke out. Kroenke would not like the negative PR of constant anti-Kroenke banners and chanting in televised games. That would be the way to rid ourselves of him.
arsenal just hired an average manager and they expect him to achieve miracles. the way the players run thoughtout the matches is going to catch up with them. you need to play smarter..not necessarily physical. when you keep on dropping big names as amanager you start to encourage self doubt even amongst those selected. players want to play with big names in thier teams. Unai is not going to last long given the way he is handling big players. ask Mourinho, the players more often win because they represent the face of the club. it is amatter of economics. why most managers fail to understand this beats me. you drop my big investment and you expect me to buy you another? handling of Lac and Ozil is going to be adecider on financing for new players. the question owners are going to ask is: is he the right Manager to give us return on investment given the way he has handled our major assets? fans start thinking like the capitalist. football is not only entertainment but abusiness.
Having sat down and looked properly at what we have at present, I couldn’t but conclude that, even if you bring the best manager to Arsenal, as some people are beginning to think already, he will not even secure 4th position. This set of players had been allowed to get away with so many things under the tutelage of Arsene Wenger. Incase you have forgotten, only three or two, some times four of Emery players play for Arsenal. And, in most cases, it is the players from Arsene Wenger era that cost us points against our opponents, barring the few occasions that Lichsteiner had to be called upon because of lack of capable personnel to cover for Bellerin. Lichsteiner was not signed to be a starter; it was just to be a cover in case of emergency, but he has stayed on the pitch mor than necessary because Bellerin has not returned. This team is still 70% Arsene Wenger’s team. Until this Unai assembles his own team, I will always bring in Arsene Wenger when discussing our team failure, because when this man was in charge, towards the end of his reign, I always tell people that there were things he was doing and putting in place that we would come to regret in the long run. When we needed a CDM and Kate was available, he developed a blind eye towards him and went on to buy Xhaka.
When Flamini was at his peak, perhaps if he stayed we would have been much better, he allowed him to run down his contract and go to AC Milan for free. Arsene Wenger totally drifted from recognizing the role of a defensive, and in their place, he used central midfielders. That pattern has its effects: all players have minimal concern of what will happen if they do not defend their goal against their opponents; players accepting that conceding goals is, ( unfortunately) a necessity. The effect of the lazy training under Wenger is what we are reaping now. It will take some of them some time to unlearn that way of work.
Go and get from anywhere, perhaps other planets, any coach and see the best he can get from this set of players. The truth is that, some of them will be gradually eased out of the team; it is not going to be revolutionary. People who are needed will be retained while those who are not needed for the journey ahead will be shown the exit door through any possible means.
As for signings this month, do not expect a lot of movement within Arsenal. The budget for transfer this month is very little, but expect something much better during summer. Denis Suarez and a central defender maybe the much we will have this winter.
In summary, until the team reflects Emery, I will continue to bring in Arsene Wenger when ever I highlight our issues, because it is one thing to have little budget, but it is another thing to not know how to use the little you have. If Arsene Wenger bought a proper defensive midfielder, we would have focused on other areas last summer.
A gunner from Nigeria.
Dan, thank you for pointing out what most Arsenal fans seem unable to comprehend, that is, Arsene was not the problem. In fact, I believe time will prove he was the victim of his own success. Continuously qualifying for the Champions League and occasionally winning an FA Cup only served to raise our expectation beyond what is now realistically achievable. Right now the way things are heading I fear Champions league qualification could remain out of our grasp for a long time yet. Under Arsene we punched above our weight for many seasons, by playing a brand of football admired by real football fans the world over. Yes, towards the end it became too much for our weak back line, but weak because Arsene chose to spend the weight of his relatively meagre budget on midfielders and attackers, and I for one am glad he did. We played attractive attacking football instead of drifting into mediocrity playing like the likes of Everton, Southamptom and Newcastle, to name just a few. Under Arsene – even at times towards the end of his tenure -we played some of the best attacking football in the Premiership.
And now as the cracks begin to reappear, so too the blame game at The Emirates. Well wake up fellow fans and take your Gooner Goggles off. All us football fans need to realise, our expectations should be proportional to our clubs spending ambition. We have no right to ask for more than to punch just above our financial weight, and must accept we are not Heavyweights in this league.
And I know one thing, I’d swap my raised expectation over mediocrity any day. Bring back Arsene