Arsenal: Is Unai Emery really improving the team?

On Sunday, Arsenal failed to beat Spurs thanks to the same old issues. It is fair to ask the question of Unai Emery: Is this team really improving?

After what was another pulsating North London Derby, Arsenal can feel aggrieved that they didn’t get the three points after a strong second-half showing. Nevertheless, they only have themselves to blame after making things difficult for themselves by gifting Tottenham a two-goal lead.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Oh my, Granit Xhaka

I must admit, before the game I was worried. All the talk was about how Arsenal were favourites and Spurs were in a state of decline with the uncertainty surrounding Mauricio Pochettino’s position and the current unrest within their squad. It would be typical for the Gunners to not turn up.

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They started the game brightly, but in Tottenham’s first meaningful attack, the defensive frailties were exposed, a long ball catching Sokratis off-guard and Bernd Leno spilling a simple save — that was his sixth individual error since last August, no goalkeeper in the Premier League has made more in that time.

Tottenham’s second goal was just as inexcusable. I’m still trying to work out now what Granit Xhaka was thinking when he completely wiped out Heung-Min Son in the penalty area to award Tottenham a penalty. It was reckless, it was amateurish, and it was Granit Xhaka down to a tee. I don’t care how well he can pass a ball against a mediocre mid-table team, his defensive deficiencies are continually hurting the team.

The first-half performance as a whole was mediocre at best and until Alexandre Lacazette scored on the stroke of half-time, the home side didn’t really test Hugo Lloris. And for this, Unai Emery has to take a share of the blame. I wasn’t convinced by his starting line-up and I was confused by his decision to start three defensively minded central midfielders at home. Too many times last season, Emery started with an overly conservative midfield. It was again the case here, with little creativity forthcoming. The whole unit would benefit with a forward-thinking midfielder like Dani Ceballos or Joe Willock included.

Yet again, then, Arsenal were bailed out by Pierre-Emerick Aubemeyang and Lacazette. Aside from an eye-catching performance in midfield from Matteo Guendouzi, there was little encouragement. This season is critical and it seems stupid to criticise Unai Emery after just four games, but he can’t rely on the same two players to dig his team out of a hole week after week.

Nicolas Pepe showed promise in parts, but he’s still a few weeks away from fully settling in, while easy goals and chances are still being gifted to opponents on a weekly basis. And a lot of the responsibility for providing a foundation to help the strikers and a defence that does not concede calamitous goals falls on Emery.

Arsenal showed a lot of intent this summer by getting rid of deadwood and replenishing the squad. But it would be fair to ask if any improvements have been made. It is still early days, but Emery has a lot of work to do.