Arsenal: Arsene Wenger’s Gunners nearly Unai Emery’s

Unai Emery is leading Arsenal into a new era. He is changing the very nature of the club. But there are still some elements from the Arsene Wenger era that are yet to be completely rid.

This week, Unai Emery had more than a couple of subtle digs at Arsene Wenger. He stated that the club was on the decline under his management. He also criticised Wenger for the way the defence was neglected.

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What was said was more than common knowledge amongst Arsenal fans and pundits alike and shows the work that has been done in the last few months is more than impressive.

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17 games unbeaten after Sunday afternoon’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth is impressive. And the most recent victory cannot be overlooked given that Arsenal’s last two visits to the south coast had resulted in a 2-1 defeat and a 3-3 draw in which they had to come from three goals down late in the second half.

When you take into account the impressive young team Eddie Howe has built and the start they have had this season, today showed how far Arsenal have come under Emery. And how different they are from the declining iteration under Wenger.

Although it is nearly Emery’s team, playing the way that he wants, the old habits do seem to creep back into the game at crucial times and it can prove costly. The equaliser today could have been easily avoided. 1-0 up. A minute to go until half-time. The Gunners got caught on the counter-attack.

The need for the wingbacks to be in such an attacking position was unnecessary and stupid. It allowed Bournemouth to break, and had Hector Bellerin chased back a lot quicker rather than the slow jog he presented, he would have caught David Brooks and prevented the equalising strike.

Bellerin has improved slightly this season and, although he is still not the player he was when he first broke into the first team three or four years ago, he has moved forward under Emery. Nevertheless, he is still prone to slip back into the Bellerin of the last two years, looking unsure as to whether he is a winger or a defender.

The same goes for Granit Xhaka. Again, he has looked like an improving player Emery. He has looked comfortable in the centre next to Lucas Torreira but, like Bellerin, he slips back to the Xhaka of last season where he will lose possession and then not chase back. The defence has looked more solid under Emery in the last two months than it did in the last three years under Wenger, but, as impressive as they are in one game, the same players look like strangers in the next.

It is niggling problems that are still there. But with their next two games against Tottenham and Manchester United, Emery’s Arsenal have the chance to very much establish themselves in the top-four race. The Wengerian Gunners would lose these matches. Can the Emeryan iteration fare differently?