Arsenal Vs Aston Villa: Unai Emery cracks only papered over

Arsenal may have fought back magnificently to beat Aston Villa on Sunday afternoon, but the cracks of Unai Emery and his team’s performance have only been papered over.

As Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang wheeled away after lashing a freekick into the bottom corner for his sixth Premier League goal of the season, the Emirates erupted. Despite their best efforts, Arsenal had completed the most unlikely of comebacks. Ten men, 1-0 and then 2-1 down, now soaring to a 3-2 victory.

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The second-half performance of Sunday’s unruly victory over Aston Villa was equally inspirational and scintillating. It illustrated what this team is capable of, when they put their minds to it, even with a man disadvantage. But that should not paper over the cracks of what was a calamitous first-half display.

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Villa were utterly dominant in the first period. Their central midfield controlled the middle of the park, their extra mobility and dynamism on and off the ball leaving their opposite numbers chasing shadows. Tyrone Mings kept Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in his pocket, while the home side’s defensive shortcomings again came to roost, this time Matteo Guendouzi and others sleeping as John McGinn slipped unmarked into the penalty area.

After the match, even head coach Unai Emery agreed regarding his team’s struggles and their need to improve:

"“When it was 11 v 11 we didn’t control the match how we wanted because we lost a lot of balls in the middle and gave them chances in the transition. When we could attack and get the ball in the box we weren’t bad really and we were also creating chances to score <…> we need to continue working and improving things <…> Together with the supporters we will be strong for the matches and hopefully improve. It is our challenge to improve defensively.”"

While the recovery that Arsenal made in the second half was brilliant, a clear sign of their character, fight and relentless will to win, and that should be praised, the underlying processes of the victory were extremely concerning and Emery shouldn’t be let off the hook because he was rescued by his players.

There were clear errors with how he set up the team. Granit Xhaka was a major issue at the base of the midfield, there was seemingly no plan to successfully play out from the back, with the players left to their own ingenuity, which is extremely poor in the modern game. And then there is the defensive problems which continue to haunt the team.

The consistent errors of the individual players, allied with poor pressing from the front that seems to be uncontrolled and highly unstructured, must at some point be laid at the door of the coach, who lays down the culture and should, in theory, improve the players he is working with.

Yes, this was a remarkable comeback, and yes, Emery and his players deserve great credit for their relentless fight and character, but the cracks are only being papered over. The problems still remain, and they will continue to haunt the team if they are not properly addressed.