Arsenal: Is Unai Emery blind to his favourites?

Arsenal’s ‘second XI’ is performing substantially better than their ‘first XI’. Without changes, it is fair to ask, is head coach Unai Emery blind to his favourites?

Granit Xhaka was not enduring his usual calamitous performance. His passing was solid as ever, he had not been completely outmanoeuvred, and his defensive overeagerness had not yet risen to the surface. And then came the first foul. An audible groan reverberated around the Emirates.

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It was as if Arsenal fans were waiting for it. They were so used to his aggressive nature getting him in trouble that they were almost surprised that he had not been caught before then. By the end of the match, a 1-0 win over Bournemouth which was far from convincing, he ended with three fouls, more than any other player on the pitch.

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Despite his defensive deficiencies, increasingly restricted passing, poor pressing and painful immobility, Unai Emery named Xhaka his club captain and seems willing to trust him in every single match. There is a mounting pile of evidence that Xhaka is not suitable and not capable of playing in a top-four Premier League team. And yet Emery ostensibly does not see it — or he chooses to ignore it.

And Xhaka is not the only one. Sokratis, too, is making a high frequency of defensive errors. He was dragged into midfield for Spurs’ opener. He then passed the ball straight to Watford for their first goal in a second-half comeback. The very next week, Jack Grealish made him look rather ponderous as he glided past the plodding Greek defender. Then there is Lucas Torreira. He is clearly playing in a position that is not comfortable, Emery pushing him further up the pitch despite clear technical limitations. And yet, despite the games proving otherwise each and every week, Emery persists with these players and plans. It curious, to say the least.

It has been reported that Emery is substantially higher on Xhaka than the general public is. He has also spoken at length about his use of Torreira, claiming that he likes the energy and high-pressing quality of the Uruguayan in more advanced areas of the pitch. Sokratis, meanwhile, seems to be Emery’s security blanket at centre-half, despite being largely insecure.

Trying to reason this is difficult. How can an obviously intelligent and successful coach not see these fairly obvious problems? Does he not perceive these issues in the same way that everyone else does, and if he doesn’t, surely he can concede that they are not working, seeing as he has tried them over and over again with the same results? These questions are even more pertinent when Arsenal’s second team, the one used in domestic cup games and the Europa League, looks so much more vibrant and bright.

Not only is the Premier League XI floundering; the XI that Emery is rotating to in lesser games is outperforming them. Even when considering the disparity in the quality of the opponents, there are meaningful conclusions for Emery to draw here. And yet, he seemingly refuses to admit his mistakes.

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So, is he oblivious to his favourites? Does he have an obvious and blatant blind spot? Or does he see these problems and simply refuse to accept them? I struggle to believe how the latter can be true. Either way, if Emery is not careful, it could cost him his job, because the results of his odd decisions are not encouraging.

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