Arsenal: Unai Emery putting himself on the line with Denis Suarez

Arsenal have made the loan move for Denis Suarez happen, and Unai Emery has to now prove that this is the right move. He’s putting himself on the line.

Part of what makes Arsenal‘s transition into the Unai Emery era exciting is that we now get to see, in time, what types of players are Emery-esque players, as opposed to Wenger-esque ones. We are already getting a good hint, from the arrivals of Guendouzi and Torreira, but now Emery has gone out on a limb to secure the loan move, with potential to buy, of Denis Suarez.

The 25-year-old Spanish midfielder is nearing the prime of his career, but the big theme of his career has been the lack of chances. At Manchester City, he couldn’t buy a match, and only made two League Cup appearances.

At Barcelona, more of the same. At Sevilla, under Emery, and at Villareal, he found himself with ample playing time and he largely impressed, but back at Barcelona, his minutes dwindled and he was, again wanting for chances.

At his age, he needs to have made a bigger impression at the top level than what he has, especially if he is going to inspire confidence in fans.

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This is a big risk for Emery, because it was clearly him that was going after this. Surely Raul Sanllehi was of a similar mind, but this has all the makings of an Emery signing. And it might be one of the players that he clashed with Mislintat on as well. It’s no secret that Emery has been gunning for him since he’s taken over, but moves have been slowed and held up.

Now that Mislintat is leaving, this “collapsed move” has un-collapsed and gone through.

That said, there is a lot to like about Unai Emery’s persistence here. Reports indicated that he called Suarez to tell him that he “trusted” him, which is a charming little tidbit if true. But more important than that, Suarez will understand that the manager has faith in him, as he did back at Sevilla.

Wenger used to put a lot of faith into his players too. Alex Iwobi was one such player, who had an unlimited amount of chances to prove himself. It wasn’t always a good thing, but with Emery, it’s a different style. He is an intense man, a driven man, and he won’t blindly invest faith. Just look at Guendouzi – a true Emery man, but not beyond reproach, like Iwobi was at times.

It’s exciting. A young player with so much potential, never fulfilled, now with the investment of faith from a manager that truly believes in him. Has a nice ring to it.