Arsenal: Most concerning Unai Emery aspect not his fault

Arsenal are set to hire Unai Emery as their next manager. It is a worrying decision, but that is utterly not the fault of Emery himself and wholly the club’s.

It was a bolt out of the blue. Arsenal, having seemingly settled on their managerial target for several days, suddenly changed the course. They re-routed, and quite substantially so. This was not a little deviation. This was a U-turn.

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And at the end of their new route lies their next manager, the first man not named Arsene Wenger to manage this club in over two decades. Yes, Unai Emery is set to take his place at the Emirates helm.

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It is a concerning appointment. Not because of the vices or flaws of Emery’s management, though there are some. His record is impressive, especially for Sevilla when he won three successive Europa Leagues under an extremely stringent budget, which is what seemingly endeared the board to his qualities. But because of the manner of the decision, the flip-flopping course in which it took, the seeming indecision, ambiguity and lack of cohesion.

Let me explain. This is Ivan Gazidis highlighting certain values that the club will look for in Wenger’s successor in his press conference on the day that Wenger announced he would be departing at the end of the season:

1. “We want someone who plays progressive, exciting football that gets people interested and excited in games we play.”
2. “Another significant piece is how the candidate represents the club.”
3. “It must be someone who gives youth a chance.”

He also spoke of how the club must be ‘bold’ in their appointment, not afraid to take the unlikely or unexpected avenue if they convicted that it was the right one. And that, up until Monday night, was precisely what they were doing.

In Mikel Arteta, the leading candidate for some time and presumed successor, Gazidis had identified an individual who will play ‘progressive, exciting football’, who ‘represents the club’, who will hopefully give ‘youth a chance’, and who is unquestionably a ‘bold’ appointment. Arteta was not the most popular candidate, but Arsenal believed that he was the right one, and they were ostensibly willing to trust their evaluation and commit to him. Until they weren’t.

This did not feel like a careful and considered decision, even though it has been a month since Wenger’s announcement. It feels rushed, panicked, harried, as if something drastic had changed and then, suddenly, Gazidis felt that he and the board just had to make a decision, and it almost didn’t matter what decision.

Next: Arsenal: 3 reasons why Unai Emery is Wenger's successor

And that is the primary concern with the Emery appointment. He could well be the right man for the job. He also might not be. Only time will tell on that one. But for almost a month, Arsenal were not convinced that he was. They pursued other candidates, other candidates that were totally different from him. And then they were convinced that he was. That, for me, is very troubling indeed.