Arsenal: The final Unai Emery ‘pressing’ excuse

Unai Emery said that his Arsenal team would be ‘very intensive for pressing’. So far, that has very much not been the case. One potential reason has been a lack of true full-backs, but this final excuse is now coming to an end.

It is becoming infamous now. Unai Emery almost dug himself into a hole from day one. And now, midway through his second season, he is struggling to climb out of it. His Arsenal team is not playing in the manner that he said it would.

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Specifically, Emery explained that his team would be a high-pressing one. When asked about the style of play, the newly appointed head coach in his first press conference said:

"“When you don’t have possession of the ball. I want a squad that is very intensive for pressing.”"

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This excited many Arsenal fans, who have been calling for the team to press high up the pitch for a long time. The trajectory of the modern game, allied with a collection of players that looks far more comfortable when implementing an offensive, high-pressing strategy, necessitated a high-pressing approach. Emery, it seemed, was the man to provide it.

But bar the odd performance here and there, Emery’s team has not pressed in the manner that he protested it would. The eye test is enough to prove as much. But an excellent piece by James McNicholas in The Athletic, with some lovely statistics and date visualisations from StatsBomb, help show how the Gunners have not pressed effectively under Emery — or, in some instances, at all. In fact, not only is the Emerian Arsenal not pressing high up the pitch; they are pressing less intensely and impactfully than in Arsene Wenger’s final year in charge. They are also far worse in this category that Liverpool and Manchester City, the two leading teams in the Premier League.

The one excuse that has been made for Emery for this lack of clearly implemented high-pressing identity is a lack of starting options. He first inherited a lacking squad. Then he suffered crucial injuries at positions without able replacements, chiefly at left-back and right-back. The full-back positions are crucial to implementing an effective high press as they must cover a lot of ground in support of the winger without exposing the centre-backs.

However, soon, Emery will welcome back into the fold his two number one options at full-back. As he confirmed in his pre-match press conference on Thursday, £25 million signing Kieran Tierney will be available for Monday night’s trip to Sheffield United. Should he start, it will be the 22-year-old’s Premier League debut for the club. Meanwhile, Hector Bellerin is working back to full fitness and played all 90 minutes in the Europa League victory over Standard Liege shortly before the international break.

Both Tierney and Bellerin are perfectly suited to full-back in the modern game. Calm and composed in possession, extremely athletic and explosive, they are able tacklers, willing to press high up the pitch and can recover their position if the high press is broken thanks to their speed. If you were to design a full-back tandem to enact a high press, it would look something like Tierney and Bellerin.

Now that they are back in the fold, there is no reason for Emery to veer away from a high-pressing strategy. He said he would implement one. He has failed to thus far. But the final excuse is coming to an end. It is time to deliver on what was promised.