Arsenal: What is Unai Emery watching?

Arsenal again played poorly in Monday’s 1-0 loss to Sheffield United. Their continued run of deplorable form begs a question: What is Unai Emery watching?

When Unai Emery was brought in to be Arsene Wenger’s replacement at Arsenal, he was praised for his attention to detail and dedication to analytics and film study. He was tasked with stopping the club’s skid and tasked with creating and establishing an identity at the club pushing them back towards the top of the table and back into Champions League. It was presumed that this incessant focus and studious management style would play crucial roles in that resurgence.

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Emery’s first season saw ups and downs, losing key players to injury, causing him to have to switch formation and tactics constantly to fit in the players he had available. Through all this, he only missed out on the top four by one point and lost in the Europa League final. There was improvement, yes, but fans still wanted a sense of identity.

After a summer of securing solid, promising reinforcements in the transfer window and the excitement of key players such as Rob Holding and Hector Bellerin returning from injury, Arsenal fans were given a glimmer of hope that we could finally see a consistent, well-defined identity and style of play.

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Well, here we stand, reinforcements integrated into the team, key players fit and ready to go, nine games into Emery’s second season, and Arsenal look nowhere near close to finding an identity. The players look confused each match, under pressure, panicking. Each week, we see the same frazzled players being thrown into the same situations. You can see the relief in the players when they squeeze a result out after being put under immense pressure by teams like Sheffield United, Aston Villa and a struggling Watford.

When Emery was hired, all fans could hear about was how he would bring a new tactical dimension to the team with his deep attention to opponent’s film and studying how they play. However, week in and week out, Emery seems to botch his line-ups and formations, sending his players into matches ill-equipped to handle the opponent, lacking the necessary understanding of what they are supposed to do.

If Emery was given two weeks to study Sheffield United’s approach and create a game plan to expose their weaknesses, it did not show. And it’s becoming more apparent that what Emery’s staff and players are studying is either not registering or they are breaking down in an ill-advised manner. Either Emery’s instructions are not being properly understood and executed, or the instructions are wrong in their first place. Neither reflects well on the Arsenal head coach.

Emery is a naturally cautious and conservative coach. Instead of looking at how to attack the weaknesses of opponents, he focuses on containing the opponent’s strengths. In theory, there is nothing wrong with that, but it means that Arsenal lose identity and clarity in their player, always looking to change up their style each and every week.

Moreover, this has led to countless boring and tedious matches that have left Arsenal players under consistent, immense pressure. And that was the case on Monday night, the Gunners’ tentative start handing United an early lead. And Chris Wilder’s team have proven that they are very difficult to beat when they take the lead, especially at Bramall Lane. Arsenal have the superior players, so why not send out an attacking lineup and put the inferior team under pressure from the get-go?

Emery seems to be confused before and after each match which is becoming more and more evident each week. He sets up his team incorrectly, makes questionable substitutions then, when results don’t go his way, doesn’t understand where things went wrong. On Monday, he said that his team did not deserve to lose. But anyone who watched the game will know that is not true — and it has not been true for many of the results this season already.

Fans are begging for consistency in Arsenal’s style of play. They are begging for exciting, attacking football. They are begging for a clear identity and focus. Unfortunately, the only consistency at present is Emery’s poor selections and tactics. It begs the question: What is Unai Emery actually watching?