Arsenal and Unai Emery: Falling in love once more

Unai Emery is an impassioned and enthused man. He prowls the touchline like an over-eager dog. And it is spilling around the Emirates. Arsenal fans are falling in love once more.

Fans of Arsenal’s rivals used to call the Emirates the library, a stadium so quiet that if you were sat close enough you could hear the players on the pitch.

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There was hardly any singing, no encouragement and, as for the manager, he would spend almost the entirety of the game slumped in his seat looking fed up regardless of his team’s performance.

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Every mistake was met by moans and groans and frustrated comments and it showed in the performances if things weren’t going the home side’s way. A far cry from the days at Highbury where, despite it not being a modern stadium, the atmosphere was second to none and the old professionals used to frequently say it was one of the hardest stadiums they played at. The crowd was a key part of that.

It’s taken nearly 12 years but the Emirates looks like it can finally step out of the shadow of Highbury, where the passion from the fans spills onto the pitch and receives an inspired performance. After years of stagnation, and many fans choosing to stay away more and more last season, the club is attractive once more. Fans are falling in love with Arsenal.

A lot of that is down to Unai Emery, a modern manager who gets the modern game — you only have to look at his Twitter account to see that he’s very much for the fans. In Saturday’s game, a 1-1 draw with Liverpool, I don’t think he sat down. He was up and down the touchline for the entire 95 minutes, encouraging his players, shouting out his orders and, more importantly, interacting with the crowd, urging them to show support and get behind the players.

I used to look at managers like Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte and the way they prowled the touchline, celebrating with the fans, gesticulating at their players, always interacting with those around then, and wonder why Arsene Wenger rarely did the same. He claimed to have the same passion as these guys, but it rarely showed on the touchline.

But now, in Wenger’s wake, Arsenal have their own version. And full credit has to be given to Emery for bringing the fans back on board in such a short space of time. There is no longer a divisive feeling at the Emirates, the fan base is not split. This a united club; the petty squabbles and fighting is a thing of the past.

The chants of ‘we’ve got our Arsenal back’ are not a comment on the style of play, on the winning, on the tactics and the performances. They are a measure of the growing passion at this club. Emery is a passionate man, and fans are falling in love with him and his club once more.