Arsenal: The one Unai Emery thing that I cannot wait to see

There are many different tactical nuances between Arsene Wenger and new Arsenal manager, Unai Emery. However, there is one that I cannot wait to see more than any other: a high-press.

Unai Emery is the new Arsenal manager. That is not a sentence that I was expecting to write even two days ago. And yet, here we are. And for many of us, we got our first introduction to Emery on Wednesday afternoon, after he was officially unveiled at the Emirates with an introductory tour and press conference.

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It was an extremely interesting press conference, with Ivan Gazidis directly challenging the media narrative that has surrounded the search for a new manager, and then Emery, speaking in extremely broken English, which he should be praised for, gave his perspective on the interview process and what he foresees for the future of the club.

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For me, his most interesting and ear-pricking comments came when he was asked about his style of football and the tactical philosophies with which he will manage this team. It was exactly the type of answer that I wanted to hear:

"“My idea is to be protagonists. We play against all the teams with this personality. The history here is a team that love playing with possession of the ball. I like that personality, I like these protagonists with the ball. When you don’t have possession, I want a squad that are very, very intensive with the pressing. The two things are important for me to be protagonists: possession of the ball and pressing when you don’t have the ball.”"

The possession stuff is nice, and somewhat expected given that Arsenal will frequently dominate proceedings against most Premier League sides other than a handful. But it is the high-pressing style that really makes my heart flutter.

I have written and said many times previously that I feel this collection of players is at its best when they are able to play on the front foot, suffocate their opponents in an aggressive manner that allows them to push high up the pitch, win frequent turnovers and drive at opposing defences that are vulnerable and exposed.

That is seemingly what Emery is preparing to implement. In the past, we have seen, on sparing occasions, this team play extremely effectively and successively when they have pressed high up the pitch — Chelsea in the FA Cup final; Spurs in the home North London derby last season, to name a couple. But Arsene Wenger was always tentative to commit to such a strategy on a regular basis.

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I would love to see this team play with a high-pressing, high-energy style that suffocates opponents. Hopefully, that is what Emery will implement. If so, I cannot wait to see it in action.