Arsenal: The results vs. performances dilemma

Unai Emery has led Arsenal to just one defeat this season, winning seven of their 11 games in all competitions. Yet, there is a growing concern with his management. This is the results vs. performances dilemma.

Arsenal currently sit in third in the Premier League, just one point behind champions Manchester City. However, a string of unconvincing and unexciting performances have caused Unai Emery’s approval rating amongst Arsenal fans to plummet. This is the classic outcome vs. process debate that many statistical analysts have endured being played out on the football stage.

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Towards the end of Arsene Wenger’s tenure, it was becoming obvious to everyone that his tactics were no longer effective, especially in away games to the top six. Refusing to sacrifice his principles and opt for a more balanced or conservative approach, Wenger’s sides were repeatedly exposed and often thrashed, with scorelines of 8-2, 6-0, 6-3, and 5-1 all still ingrained in the minds of Arsenal fans today.

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Fast forward to today and Emery is having the opposite problem. Arsenal are in third place heading into the international break, have looked very capable against the best teams but have struggled against lower Premier League sides. All in all, they have looked far from a Champions League-calibre team thus far. While they have lost only once (at Anfield), none of their wins have been by more than a one-goal margin and there remains an obvious lack of cohesion.

Perhaps no match better demonstrated this than Sunday’s 1-0 win against Bournemouth. The Gunners managed just two shots on target all game and the issues were all too familiar: a lack of fluidity in midfield and no attacking ambition after scoring first.

Nonetheless, there are two schools of thought in reaction to this victory and the season thus far in general: On one hand, Arsenal have yet to play particularly well but have still been able to scrape out results, which, after all, are all that matter; on the other hand, lacklustre performances leading to desirable outcomes is an unsustainable one and there is a growing concern that Emery’s side are riding their luck.

While Emery has repeatedly stated that he wants his side to be ‘protagonists’ and to control games through extended periods of possession and high pressing, his actual tactics and game-management are a long way off from fulfilling that vision.

There is a lack of a real midfield presence that can control the middle-third of the pitch and we have yet to see the best of Nicolas Pepe, at least in part because the team is not providing a platform upon which he can flourish. In general, there continues to be a huge disconnect between the front three and the rest of the team, thus leading to the absence of control that Emery apparently so desperately desires. And despite all of this, Arsenal keep on winning.

Of course, the returns of Hector Bellerin, Rob Holding and Kieran Tierney will be a boost, but Emery still has a lot to figure out in terms of what the ideal setup and brand of football should be. Can Granit Xhaka remain an every week starter in the Premier League? How does he get the best out of extremely talented players such as Pepe and Dani Ceballos?

These are among the many questions that Emery will be faced with in the coming months. And looming over all of them is this tension of results vs. performances. Because while there are growing doubts over his tactics and coaching, Arsenal keep on winning.