Arsenal: There are some seriously stupid opinions out there

Arsenal have seen vast improvements under Unai Emery, but damn, there are some seriously stupid opinions floating around out there trying to discredit him.

Stupid opinions are an unfortunate side affect of an imperfect world full of imperfect human beings. And unfortunately for Arsenal, those stupid opinions always seem to swarm the club. Unai Emery has not been spared from this onslaught.

The most recent idiocy comes from the mouth of former Crystal Palace chairman Simon Jordan. Now, why a former chairman of a relegation-bait club matters, I’ll never know, but since it’s out there, I can’t help but address it.

Jordan says, in short, that he would like to think that there is “something there” with Unai Emery, but after seeing signings like David Luiz, settles on that there “isn’t [something there].”

Essentially meaning that Emery is completely discredited, and has no plan, because he signed David Luiz.

Read that line again. I have to, to keep reminding myself why I’m even writing this. He thinks that Emery has no plan, and isn’t right for the club, because he signed Luiz for £8m.

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No really, he said that. I didn’t believe the headline either, so I clicked it and read his statements and he legitimately said that.

No plan? Why would a man with no plan by a player that he can’t get until next year? Answer me that. William Saliba is the plan. Calum Chambers and Rob Holding are the plan. David Luiz is a stopgap, plug-in defender to fill a spot until these other defenders can assume their spot, which will happen sooner rather than later if Luiz keeps up his string of errors.

Which, by the way, is another reason to believe in Emery’s plan. Because he won’t be afraid to bench Luiz for a younger, less-experienced defender. He’s done it before. He’ll do it again. Why do you think Joe Willock keeps starting?

It’s mind-numbing, how someone can get paid to say something like this. It was Luiz or no one. And like it or not, Luiz has uses. And in the locker room, he’s a man of experience, of winning, of outspokenness that is an excellent presence to have around. Even if Luiz is relegated to midweek duties and doesn’t start another Premier League match, he will still have been a brilliant signing, solely for those uses and for the presence he provides.

But the Mirror didn’t ask me, they asked Simon Jordan, who’s club has been dancing out of the bottom three for the past half decade. Sorry, former club.