Arsenal: The only Unai Emery defence a limp one

Unai Emery is coming under increasing pressure as his Arsenal team toils. And the only defence that can be made for his position, that there has not been enough time and opportunity to properly assess his impact, is a limp one, to say the least.

The questions surrounding Unai Emery’s position as Arsenal head coach are growing with every passing match. His team has not played well in a Premier League match this season, have won just two of their last eight league games, and have not won a match by more than a single goal either.

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But the results are just part of the problem. There is no identity to the team, which is something that was apparently critical to his tenure when he was hired, the underlying processes, both defensive and offensive ones, are at best confused and at worst nonexistent, and progress is minimal.

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And this week, David Ornstein of The Athletic reported that while many players are still in support of Emery, some are concerned with the growing confusion amid the squad:

"“It is also fair to say that Emery does not retain the backing of his entire squad — the main concern of some members being an apparent absence of team identity and clarity on what is being asked of them — but equally the majority of players and staff are believed to be behind him.”"

Defensively, Arsenal look as shaky as they did under Arsene Wenger, which was, again, a key reason for hiring Emery in the first play. Offensively, the team is almost solely dependent on moments of magic from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette or Nicolas Pepe, while the development of individual players has seemingly stalled as well, only Matteo Guendouzi taking genuine and significant strides in Emery’s second year.

In fact, at this point, there is only one valid reason to keep Emery: that he has not had enough time. This line of thinking stems from ideas surrounding sample size and context. It essentially argues that the sample size is not big enough and consistent enough — by this, I mean changes in surrounding factors, like injuries, squad overhaul and the competitiveness of the other teams — to properly analyse Emery’s coaching ability.

But if that is your only argument for keeping someone in their job, that you have not had enough time or the right circumstances to accurately prove whether they are good at it or not, it is not exactly the most convincing sell to those who are doubting their efficacy. Essentially, Emery’s supporters are asking for time because he has not had the chance to prove himself. But all of the evidence points to him being unable to prove himself no matter how time you give him.

Personally, I am still in support of Emery, not because I think he is a good coach, but because I am a huge believer in continuity, stability and patience and I believe that Emery deserves a genuine chance to build the team, one that he has not yet been given. But this reasoning only lasts for so long. At some point, you have to pull the plug.

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What comes of Emery and his future remains to be seen. Arsenal certainly seem to be willing to wait for results to turnaround. However, it is extremely concerning and flimsy that the only argument in favour of Emery is that the sample size is not of the quality needed to properly asses him. Time is running out, and so is the supportive reasoning.

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