Arsenal: Identity the buzzword for Unai Emery

Unai Emery has spoken of the new identity that he is hoping to instill in his Arsenal players and team. For the new head coach, ‘identity’ is the buzzword that he will be hoping all can get behind.

Saturday was the first time that we got to see this new iteration of Arsenal football club. Admittedly, it came in the first preseason fixture of the summer against non-league opposition who offered little challenge to a fairly strong Gunners team, but we nonetheless caught a glimpse of what life might be like in the post-Arsene Wenger world.

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It is now Unai Emery’s time in charge and this was his first opportunity to present his version of the club.

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Indeed, after the match, Emery was keen to get across this change in ‘identity’. Speaking with the media, the new head coach gave a little snippet of what he expects of his players, the differences that will exist between his and Wenger’s teams, and the changing style and culture of the club as he continues to implement his values and philosophies:

"“We need to work together and the first way to do that is by finding the performance. And through this performance, finding one clear identity. I want a team with energy and I want the players to give their all on the pitch. I want to give them the habits that I want to see from them in each match. I want to see them demonstrate these habits in every game and give their all. With my actions each day I want to give the players a way that is new, that is different. It’s not better, it’s not worse, it’s just a different moment for this club.”"

For Emery, this is the clear motto that he wants to instill and proclaim during his early weeks and months as the new head coach. There is, if not a revolution, then a clear evolution at this club, and that, as Emery is wanting to portray without any ambiguity, will take time and requires patience.

For any manager, that is what the summer preseason is for, implementing his styles and strategies for the season ahead; it is only more poignant and significant for a new manager to have this period in which he can lay down the foundation for the future, drilling down the habits of his team, and hammering home the different roles and responsibilities of the positions and the players, such that they become innate and instinctive when it matters most.

That is what Emery is working towards this summer. These patterns of habit, these almost subconscious, innate elements of understanding and anticipation. Ensuring that every single player has a deep knowledge of what their role is in the team is what creates a cohesive and connected collective, aids the smoothness of the process of change from Wenger to Emery, and allows players to play on instinct, not thought, quickening every action that is undertaken on the pitch throughout the season.

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It is the identity of the team that Emery is wanting to hammer home. That is what is being defined in this preseason, and its ramifications will ripple throughout the whole of the season.