Arsenal: Unai Emery has mastered one skill Arsene Wenger never had

Arsenal were spoiled by Arsene Wenger, plain and simple, and Unai Emery won’t find it easy to follow. But he’s already got one upper hand.

Arsenal’s first three games have left much to be desired, but as the club is still in the experimental stages of Unai Emery’s career, there is nothing to fear. Let the new manager feel his way around the club.

And, if we are keeping track, Emery is already doing one thing better than Wenger – subbing.

I have been literally ecstatic with Emery’s substitutions thus far into the season. Unlike Wenger, who had the same three subs in every match, at the same exact times (none before the 65th minute!), Emery has been very reactionary. He makes subs based on what’s happening in the match, not based on who he is used to.

Take the midfield for instance. Emery, in the first two matches, rightfully subbed off Granit Xhaka in favor of Lucas Torreira. The matches were getting away from Xhaka and needed the athleticism of someone like Torreira.

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But against West Ham, with Xhaka performing quite well, it was Matteo Guendouzi who took a seat, not Xhaka. And that was because Guendouzi was not quite his usual self. It was a smart substitution and it paid off big time.

Also against West Ham, Emery continued to augment the attack, even after introducing Alexandre Lacazette, but introducing Danny Welbeck as well. Welbeck came on for a frustrated Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and, lo and behold, he scored the winning goal.

Emery also hasn’t been afraid to make the difficult substitutions, like subbing off Aubameyang, for instance, or subbing off Mesut Ozil, who Wenger seemed terrified to touch.

Emery isn’t picking favorites. He is giving more time to those that deserve it and removing those that are struggling. There is no “time for Giroud” like Wenger used to have. Anything is possible with Emery’s substitution policy and there is such a degree of reassurance in that, knowing that the manager is calculating in his mind what the game needs most, and what hasn’t been working.

Wenger had so many strengths as a manager, but adjusting mid-match was not one of them. Emery is proving capable of doing just that, and his subs are just the tip of the iceberg.