Arsenal: Alex Iwobi shows why Unai Emery needs patience

This week, Alex Iwobi spoke about the ‘weird’ adaptation period from Arsene Wenger to Unai Emery. His comments prove why the Arsenal head coach needs patience.

Unai Emery took on the second-toughest job in the footballing world of the past twenty years. Behind succeeding Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, having to lead Arsenal into a new era after Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign is the most difficult managerial role in the world.

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The Spaniard is now a year into that mammoth task. Results, it would be fair to say, have been mixed. Not bad, but certainly mixed.

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Nevertheless, that has led to some Arsenal fans bankrupting their faith in Emery, with some even calling for his sacking during the late-season capitulation that cost the team a fourth-place finish. It was certainly disappointing to slip out of the top four, but calling for a manager’s head after a year in the job is rarely sensible — I am looking at you, Chelsea.

The reason for patience is the difficulty in succeeding Wenger. This week, Alex Iwobi was speaking about how he and his teammates have adapted to Emery’s work, moving on from the innately understood Wenger system and beginning to learn a new tactical set-up and way of training and playing. His answer was very honest and interesting:

"“I didn’t know what it was going to be like when he came. I can’t lie, it was a bit weird [at first] because I grew into the system playing under Arsene Wenger and that is all I have known. But when he did come — I came late to pre-season as I was at the World Cup — he spoke to me and said what ideas he had for me. I have bought into them and I’ve played in a lot of matches and he has shown a lot of faith in me. I thank him for that <…> You can see everyone is fighting, not just for us, but for him. He has a good chemistry with the players and you can see that in his time here.”"

For Iwobi, it has been ‘weird’ to move on from Wenger. That should not be surprising. Wenger has been the coaching influence on many of the players in the Arsenal squad. He would have been like a father figure to many of them. Losing that individual from your life takes time, and anyone who tries to then succeed them is immediately seen in a negative light. They have to earn your trust.

That is the position that Emery encountered. He was immediately indebted to the players he inherited because of their relationship with and reverence for Wenger. Expecting, then, someone to turn that situation into an unbridled positive within a year is complete nonsense.

Emery will have to move out of the Wenger shadow. And he will be judged by his ability to do so. If it takes six years and counting, as it has done at Old Trafford, he will not be at the club for much longer. But to expect this process of succession and change to happen in a year is utterly naive. Emery needs patience and the opportunity for his era to play out. Let’s hope that he gets it.