Pain In The Arsenal Podcast: Watford debacle show notes

Arsenal returned to Premier League action with a diabolical 2-2 draw against lowly Watford. Unai Emery is now under immense pressure.

Sometimes, I hate being an Arsenal fan. The club’s most recent implosion left me exasperated and dejected. Watford, who were bottom of the table heading into the game, had 31 shots, their highest ever in a Premier League match. Quite honestly, it was embarrassing.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Unai Emery out?

Unai Emery needs to find an identity and fast. I had no issue with the midfield diamond against Liverpool. I have a problem with a diamond against a team which was — and still is — rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table. Emery did not need to improve his record against the Champions of Europe or the rest of the top six; he needed to improve against the division’s ‘inferior’ teams.

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Watford had a new head coach in Quique Sánchez Flores. There was no excuse to drop points. Arsenal were lucky to go into the interval with a 2-0 lead. They were hardly dominant but capitalised on a period in the game in which Watford were dreadful. The diamond limited the offensive capabilities. Players were often left bereft of options. It was painful to watch. Emery must revert to a 4-2-3-1/4-3-3. When Reiss Nelson entered the fray, the team’s balance and shape improved immediately (although it ultimately counted for nothing). Disappointing tactics from the outset of games have become a worrying trend during the Emery era. He did himself no favours with his latest experiment.

It is frustrating because Arsenal have one of the best squads in the league. They should be able to beat the majority of teams in the Premier League using their default tactics (4-2-3-1/4-3-3, high press, overlapping full-backs, dynamic forwards and complete midfielders).

They desperately missed the injured Alexandre Lacazette. Despite Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s ruthless finishing, nothing was sticking when they were desperately under the cosh. The Frenchman showed from the treatment table why he is the Gunners’ best and most important player.

Héctor Bellerín, Rob Holding, Kieran Tierney and Lacazette will all make their way into the starting XI when healthy, but it is also time to see whether Calum Chambers is good enough. David Luiz and Sokratis have been error-prone to start the season and cannot be relied upon.

Hopefully, Arsenal can turn things around. They have a favourable run of fixtures up until mid-December that they must capitalise upon if they are to regain Champions League status.

While I would like to see reserves and academy prospects get some minutes against Eintracht Frankfurt, perhaps it would be best if Emery did not make wholesale changes for this game. Eintracht were Europa League semi-finalists last season. Luka Jovic, Ante Rebic and Sébastien Haller may have left for pastures new, but there are still some noteworthy names in their squad (Danny da Costa, Evan N’Dicka, Filip Kostic, André Silva, Bas Dost).

This is an incredibly hectic part of the season. In light of Lacazette’s injury, I would like to see what either Tyreece John-Jules or Folarin Balogun can do in the Europa League and the EFL Cup. John-Jules has been favourably compared to Lacazette because of his ability to facilitate as well as score goals. Throwing young players into the fire is not always advisable, but sometimes it is necessary. Arsemal cannot risk Aubameyang getting injured in inferior competitions such as the Europa League or the EFL Cup. He is far too valuable, especially with Lacazette temporarily sidelined.

The Europa League objective is apparent. Arsenal must reach the latter stages of the competition. They botched two glorious opportunities to qualify for the Champions League last season; they cannot afford to do so this term.

One thing is for sure: After Arsenal’s most recent embarrassment, Unai Emery is well and truly in the spotlight. That performance was utterly ridiculous.