Arsenal: And this is why Unai Emery needed time

Arsenal were brilliant in Wednesday’s 5-1 win over Bournemouth. Their recent good form is why Unai Emery needed, and still needs, time and support.

Over the past week, Arsenal have put together three of their better performances of the season. The first was a 3-0 victory over BATE Borisov in the Europa League, a victory that they needed in the most timely fashion.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — BATE Borisov and Mesut Ozil fanboys

Then came the controlled, commanding 2-0 win over Southampton. A very good first half display and another clean sheet. And finally, on Wednesday night, a 5-1 demolition of Bournemouth in which the Gunners played with energy, creativity and the attacking fluency that fans have been waiting for all season long.

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For Unai Emery, this is the first time that his plan is ostensibly coming together. There is a clear process at the club that he is implementing and the players, slowly, are getting on board with it. Contrast the general positivity of the fans and feeling around Arsenal to even just a week or two ago when everybody was shrouded in doom and gloom.

Now, this recent run of prosperity does not wipe away the awkward elements of the season. There are still plenty of shortcomings that Emery must address if he is to build a title contender at the Emirates. Three wins against three teams that should be comfortably beaten is not all that impressive in the grand scheme of things. But what is clear is that the underlying approach that Emery is trying to use is beginning to take hold, and that is more significant than any result.

This is perhaps most telling in his use of a sole centre-forward. For most of the campaign, Emery has squeezed both Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang into the same XI. This, I always felt, was because he did not have the desired options out wide and he felt he needed the quality of the striking pair. An understandable position to hold.

But in recent matches, Emery has rotated between the pair. In fact, it is now five matches in a row that only one of Lacazette or Aubameyang has started in a sole striker role. The Arsenal attack has functioned at a much higher level as a result.

This is just one example of Emery’s ideas are slowly beginning to infiltrate the squad. Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are re-energized. Sead Kolasinac is still an offensive weapon while being curtailed a little. The defence has protection from the midfield, especially when playing the 4-2-3-1 that has been seen more proactively in recent weeks.

Emery’s ideas are on their way. And as he is able to further implement with more time and more spending, we will begin to see this Arsenal team increasingly evolve. And this is why he needs time. Implementing ideas takes time. Let’s hope, then, that Emery is given it.