Arsenal: Results are more important than identity and style

Arsenal got back to winning ways this weekend with a slightly unconvincing win over bottom club Huddersfield Town, but it’s the result that matters.

Fans in recent weeks have begun questioning Arsenal‘s identity under Unai Emery and while it is not a debate without merit, it has led to some pretty unwarranted criticism of the head coach.

Firstly, following a coach like Arsene Wenger, it was always going to be difficult for Emery to install his own identity. Wenger, more so than any other coach, had one way of playing and managing, and very rarely deviated from this in over 20 years.

Emery, by contrast, has looked to adapt the team in each game in order to get the most out of the squad he has available. This is a squad that he has had little influence over in terms of composition and one that has been affected by injury throughout the season.

In central midfield, Emery has just three players he seems to trust in Matteo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka and Lucas Torreira. It is a similar situation at centre back with Laurent Koscielny, Sokratis and Rob Holding. Against Huddersfield, Xhaka, Sokratis and Holding were all out and as a result Emery chose a side he felt could win at the expense of one that looked primarily to play attractive and expansive football.

For long periods under Wenger, fans bemoaned his lack of pragmatism and obsession with aesthetics. Last season this came to its crescendo, when Arsenal picked up just three total points away from home in the new year. With the shoe on the other foot, however, fans seem to be forgetting how infuriating and damaging Wenger’s intransigence was.

Emery instead is looking at each game in isolation and changing his approach accordingly. It is perhaps true that he doesn’t know his best team or even his best system, but this is most probably caused by the fact that one doesn’t exist.

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In defence, he has never had all his players available at the same time, and Xhaka has even been forced back into the defence from midfield. The club then didn’t back him in January when he made it clear that he needed a winger. As a result, it seems Emery doesn’t want to settle on a system that includes players that don’t have a future at the club.

When Arsenal have been at their best this season, we have seen what Emery wants to do. High pressing, fast counter attacks, tenacity in midfield and passing from the back. This style though, is dependent on players with a certain skill set and it is clear this is not a skill set that Emery sees in many players in his squad.

With Hector Bellerin injured it would be irresponsible to ask Stephan Lichtsteiner to emulate his role. The same applies to Shkodran Mustafi replicating the work of Koscielny.

Emery has a clear understanding of what he wants to do, but because of the circumstances he faces, has been willing to find new solutions that fit the players he has available to him. To a large extent this has worked too, as Arsenal remain just one point off Manchester United in fourth place.

It is not always pretty, but it remains the best way to extract what he can from the squad.