Arsenal: Winning ugly and unsustainable both true

Arsenal are not playing well. And yet they are earning results. They are winning ugly. And it’s unsustainable. But those are not mutually exclusive facts.

If you have read any of my recent pieces on the site since Saturday’s win over Watford, you will spot a theme: I don’t think Arsenal are playing very well. The theme is supported by statistics — their Expected Goals, the number of shots and shots on target, the quality of chances they are conceding — and it does point to a rather concerning development: Unai Emery’s system either isn’t very good or is difficult to learn.

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Whichever it may be, the fact of the matter remains the same. This team isn’t playing very well, even if it is winning, which many have pointed to as a reason to be happy with the recent run of form.

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To some extent, fans should be happy with Arsenal’s September. They won every game in that month and climbed back into the top five in the Premier League. And the squad should be praised for the winning mentality that they have displayed during this period. Winning ugly is not something that the Gunners are renowned for. And yet, they have now done so for five straight games in the Premier League.

As you can see, there is a clear tension here. There is a sense of hope and joy at the recent results, but a contrasting dread and fear because of the performances that accompany them. Indeed, in the Daily Telegraph, Charlie Eccleshare questioned whether these recent matches are a sign of improvement in regards to the resilience and ability to win that has been displayed or cause for concern due to their unsustainability?

It is a fair question to ask. It is one that I myself have also asked and tried to answer. I have written pieces on both sides of the coin, analysing why and how Arsenal need to improve in the future if they want to maintain this run of results and praising the mentality of the squad and the attitudinal work that Emery has undertaken since his arrival.

You see, these two elements, one of praising the ugly winning and the other of criticising the performance, are not mutually exclusive. The past five league games can both be a display of the mental fortitude and resolve of this team, something that should be credited to them, and show plenty of worrying signs that cast doubt over the remainder of the season.

Emery should both be praised for his work on the mentality of his team and also questioned and scrutinised for the lack of improvements in the underlying processes of the team, especially defensively, an area of the team that was critically poor under Arsene Wenger.

So yes, it may be a fair question to ask what lessons can be learned from these recent matches. But the answers are not mutually exclusive. Arsenal have been both good and bad. There are positives and negatives to their season’s work thus far. As such, we, as fans, should both praise their improvements and fear for their future.