Arsenal: Unai Emery needs to put away the broom and get out the axe

All season, Unai Emery has been feeling around to see who fits at his Arsenal, and who doesn’t. But it’s time to ditch the broom and grab the axe.

My mind often works in obscure analogies when it comes to Arsenal, so allow me to share my latest. All season long, Unai Emery has been pushing pieces around, sweeping piles of dust together, seeing what works and what doesn’t, and hoping that he can put those piles into anything that doesn’t look like trash.

There were some positive signs, but for the most part, the piles all looked like trash. And while I would love for Emery to start sweeping the dust in the trash can, there is always the chance that some dust may fall between the cracks and remain on the team. Players that don’t want to leave, for instance.

So put the broom away and take out the axe. Treat those piles of dust like the Vikings treated the Anglo-Saxons in the 9th century. Destroy.

As in… ruthlessly sell, don’t behead. Or…

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Seriously though, this club has so many players that are expendable. I don’t even want to start getting into the names, but every single player that has exhibited signs of complacency, of not caring, of being a bystander when the game goes awry – hack them away.

Any player that has shown inconsistency, that has had enough chances that we should know by now if they are ever going to cut it, that can’t seem to stick in the starting XI – hack them away.

If Emery is truly going to be judged fairly, and have his best chance at success, he is going to have to be able to build this team to his liking, not to the budget’s liking or to Arsene Wenger’s liking. He has to get in there, be ruthless, and chop away all the bubbly fat that is weighing this club down.

There’s no being delicate about it. There’s no tip-toeing around the issue. There’s no sparing people’s feelings. Emery has to treat the transfer window like he treated Mesut Ozil this year – no mercy. Actually, treat it even harsher, because he did have a little mercy for Ozil.

It’s the only way we can move forward. Spare those that have the fight and dispose of those that don’t. It’s not a hard reset, but it’s pretty close, and it should feel similar.