Arsenal: Assessing Unai Emery, a year on from Arsene Wenger

Arsene Wenger announced his resignation a little over a year ago. But how is his successor, Unai Emery, doing? Here is an assessment of the Arsenal head coach’s first year.

It was a little over a year ago that Arsenal fans were still reeling from the news that Arsene Wenger was to leave. Many celebrated. Others despaired at the thought of a rebuilding process which, according to them, would take years.

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A year later things are looking a whole lot better than many hoped. Unai Emery was named his successor after the end of the season but only within the last two months has his plan started to take effect.

There, of course, was the usual doubt, the usual frustrations and the pointless ‘Emery Out’ brigade. His appointment very much came out of left-field, with Carlo Ancelotti, Thomas Tuchel, Patrick Vieira all mentioned, while Mikel Arteta looked like he was on the brink of taking over until he suddenly wasn’t. It was met with a mixture of positivity and doubt. Some said he wasn’t a big enough name to follow Wenger, whilst others pointed at his success with Paris Saint-Germain and, more impressively, Sevilla, where he won the Europa League three times in a row.

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He adhered himself to the fans by giving his first interview in English despite his limited understanding, showing his willingness to adapt. Then on he went to work on signing players in areas that needed rebuilding and improving. A goalkeeper in Bernd Leno; Lucas Torreira the defensive midfielder; defensive experience and nous thanks to Sokratis and Stephen Lichtsteiner; and then the young wildcard, Matteo Guendouzi. They were all brought in, with all apart from Lichtsteiner settling into the first team and becoming key figures.

Emery made a strong start, despite losing his first two games to Manchester City and Chelsea. Arsenal went on a 22-game unbeaten run stretching all the way until mid-December. Despite the run, some fans and pundits weren’t convinced. All the fixtures were winnable for a team like Arsenal, despite Liverpool, Tottenham and away at Manchester United being amongst the run of games, and the performances were causing concern too with teams wasting opportunities and allowing Arsenal to nick results.

Then came the expected dip. First, the 3-2 defeat at St Mary’s against Southampton which started a five-game run away from home where Arsenal would only pick up one point. Included in that run were dreadful performances against West Ham United and Manchester City and a 5-1 thrashing against Liverpool. It was during this period that some fans started to question whether Emery was doing anything different to Wenger. The defence was still a real cause for concern, and with Emery constantly chopping and changing between a back four and a back three, the players also looked confused as to what they were meant to be doing. The long-term plan that was promised seemed distant.

At home, however, Arsenal were quietly going about their business. Sunday’s loss to Crystal Palace was stopped a run of ten consecutive wins in north London. To this day, only Manchester City, Wolves, Liverpool and Palace have taken points away from the Emirates. But the home form is not where the biggest improvement has been made. That honour belongs to the performances against the top six and in Europe.

It took time for Emery’s plan to take effect. But at the beginning of March, we saw a new style. First, away at Tottenham Hotspur, where, for the first time in years, the team looked solid defensively away against a top-six side, and were unlucky to come away with just a point. Then a win at home against Manchester United. Then two excellent second leg performances against BATE Borisov and Rennes in the Europa League. And finally, a beautifully managed tie agaainst an excellent Napoli, the 3-0 aggregate scoreline a clear indication of the nous and pragmatism that Emery has instilled. Arsenal have now kept six clean sheets in their last eight games in all competitions and have a good chance of a top-four finish and Europa League title.

Overall, I believe that the team has transitioned well into Unai Emery’s style with him quickly identifying problems and looking to rectify them, something his predecessor failed to do for over a decade. Despite the criticisms, Emery has stuck to his beliefs and not changed his plan. And after a year of hard work, his plan is now finally being unveiled. As the flag at the Emirates says ‘to the next chapter’. Let’s hope it is a successful one.