Arsenal: Spurs, Liverpool not the definition of Unai Emery

The jury is still somewhat out on Arsenal head coach Unai Emery. But after two draws against top-six opponents, here is why those types of games should not define his tenure.

It is not the kindest start to the season to face two top-six teams in your opening four matches. Nevertheless, after starting last season with matches against Manchester City and Chelsea, this time, Arsenal and Unai Emery played Liverpool and Spurs in back-to-back matches to close out the four-game first stanza.

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

The Gunners earned only one point from those two games. They were tonked 3-1 at Anfield, predictably outmanoeuvred by Jurgen Klopp’s brilliantly high-pressing side, and then were unlucky to draw 2-2 in Sunday’s wild North London Derby.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

That means seven points from four games. They are only two points ahead of the much-criticised Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs and are already five points of the leading pace. And there have been rumblings of criticism for head coach Emery as a result. There have not been outright shouts for his head, but some fans are tentatively raising doubts of the Spaniard’s coaching ability, questioning his team selection and tactics in several games this season.

Specifically, his 4-4-2 diamond against Liverpool was called into question. It was seen as overly defensive, inviting Liverpool to press his team, which is precisely what they want to do. And then, against Spurs, there were murmurs of discontent regarding the selection of Granit Xhaka, which proved to be vindicated, and the dropping of Dani Ceballos, who then came on in the second half and showed exactly why he should have started.

Now, while these grievances may carry some small significance, the Emery tenure should not and will not be defined by games against the top six, especially those versus Liverpool and Manchester City. While these are the matches that grab the headlines and catch the attention, they are not what will build the success of the season.

Last year, Arsenal were deceptively capable against top-six opponents. They drew with Liverpool at home, they beat Chelsea and Manchester United at the Emirates, drew with United and Spurs away from home, and would have won the latter if not for Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missing a penalty, and played bravely at Stamford Bridge in Emery’s second game in charge. In all, they amassed 12 points from 10 top-six matches.

Their problems came against the bottom-14 teams. Dropping silly points to Southampton, Crystal Palace, Everton and Wolves. Their terrible away from, with only seven wins all season, complacency against lesser teams, the capitulation in the closing matches of the campaign to slip out of the top four. This what undermined Arsenal’s season, not their performances and results against the top six.

And the same is true this season. Emery and his success will be defined what he and his team can do against the lesser teams, not the Spurs’s and Liverpool’s. And so, this criticism seems a little off to me. I am not defending Emery, not entirely. Rather, I am saying he should be judged on the games that will define him, and that is the not those against the top six.