Arsenal: Unai Emery the person and Unai Emery the coach

Unai Emery is six months into his new job at Arsenal. And there are two sides to his start to life in north London: Emery the person and Emery the coach.

We have arrived at the third and final international break of the opening stanza of the season. The two-week pause provides all domestic clubs to reflect on recent happenings and predict what may be to come in future weeks and months. For Arsenal, under new management for the first time since 1996, that is especially poignant.

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This whole season, and particularly this early stage of the season, is about Unai Emery. The manager — or head coach — is the most important figure at any football club and Emery is inheriting a role of great significance, influence and difficulty. It is not easy succeeding one of the greatest managers in the history of the game.

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And so, now at this reflective international break, I naturally begin to muse the changes that Emery has made, consider the evolution of the club, which has been substantial given the timeframe, and come to some form of stance on whether I believe he is indeed the man to take Arsenal forward. In doing so, I cannot help but separate Emery out into two components: Unai Emery the person and Unai Emery the coach.

Thus far into his reign, I cannot say whether Unai Emery is a good or bad coach. Certainly, there have been plenty of positive signs that suggest that he might be. The players seem to enjoy playing for him, there have been key improvements, on an individual and collective basis, and Emery was widely considered one of the more detailed, constructive minds in European football prior to his arrival. But I still cannot say with any certainty that he is a good coach. On that, the jury is very much still out.

But I can comment on Unai Emery the person, Unai Emery the character, the man. Because, so far, it is his personality, his little idiosyncrasies, the way that he carries himself, his humility and integrity, the intelligence of his responses, his enthused, effervescent passion on the sidelines, his almost rabid reactions to actions on the pitch that I am growing extremely fond of.

When he opened his introductory press conference in English, for instance, despite not really knowing the language. He understood the value of that. When he celebrated a Granit Xhaka tackle on Mohamed Salah as if he had scored a 90th minute winner, and then turned to gee up the crowd with two, emphatic arms raised high. When he says ‘plaaayy’ in his interviews, with some weird kind of emphasis on the ‘ay’.

It sounds a little silly, highlighting aspects of his behaviour and character that seemingly have little do with the ultimate product on the pitch, but as I cast my gaze to Old Trafford and see fans hold a vehement dislike for their manager, I realise how fortunate I am to have a manager that I respect as a person, and not just as a coach. The same, obviously, could be said for Arsene Wenger.

I do not know whether Unai Emery the coach will be successful at Arsenal. No one does. It is simply too early to say. But Unai Emery the person is making quite the impression, and that should go overlooked.