Arsenal: Now the time to underline transformation

Arsenal take on Manchester United at Old Trafford on Wednesday. This is an opportunity for the Gunners to show that Unai Emery’s revolution is the real deal and underline the transformation made under the Spaniard.

Arsenal fans are currently basking in the warm glow of a fiery North London Derby win this past Sunday. With few pundits giving the Gunners a chance and never-ending chatter of a power shift leading up to the match, the emphatic way they dismantled their rivals was especially delicious.

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Gooners can’t take too long to gloat, however, with a huge match on Wednesday against perhaps their second greatest rivals in Premier League history, Manchester United. With the fixture taking place at Old Trafford, there is major significance on this fixture. No wins at Old Trafford since 2006 and Emmanuel Adebayor notched the winner.

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Despite currently cruising on a 19-game unbeaten streak, Arsenal have flown under the radar for much of this campaign. It is only with this recent victory over Tottenham that they are now being seen as genuine top-four contenders, outside of the fanbase, of course.

This is a huge opportunity to underline the transformation that has been instigated by Unai Emery this season. There is no doubt that the new head coach has had a major influence on the best club in North London. The team is far more physically fit, mentally strong and tactically adroit than it has been for many years, especially in the waning latter stages of the Arsene Wenger departure, summed up perfectly in the thrilling 4-2 victory over the weekend.

However, to be fair, Emery is yet to really do anything that Wenger did not last season. It is true that he has overturned last season’s abhorrent away record, but at home, Wenger was nearly perfect. In fact, the Gunners two best results from the current campaign, Sunday’s 4-2 victory over Spurs and the 1-1 draw against Liverpool, both at home, had similar outcomes last season. Arsenal comprehensively defeated Tottenham by two goals (2-0) last season and drew with a surging Liverpool 3-3.

According to 11v11, Arsenal have improved by two points and one league position since last season, currently on 30 points in 4th place rather than 28 points in 5th place this same time last year. A number of points and league position cannot capture the new lease of life that many fans are enjoying, however. Fans are exhibiting a camaraderie, passion and confidence that cannot be so coldly quantified by numbers on a board.

And yet, lose to United on Wednesday, they could be 11 points off the league-leading pace, three points outside of the top four and only five ahead of the apparently in-crisis, toiling titans. For all of the evolutionary work that Emery has undertaken in north London, there is still a confirmation to be made.

A win against Manchester United at Old Trafford, then, would embody both tangible and symbolic evidence of a true transformation.