Arsenal: The optics of the Unai Emery era thus far

Unai Emery has little time left at Arsenal to prove himself; he has created little progress with the big talent at his disposal. The writing is on the wall.

I have been a staunch optimist for the entirety of the Unai Emery era. As such, I’ve been called an apologist, out of touch or even blind; optimism often suffers through pessimists masquerading as realists. Arsenal have no more excuses for their poor play and worse still, the Premier League appears more wide open than in decades. With all of this understood, the Unai Emery era has remarkably poor optics attached to it.

When Unai Emery took over prior to last seasons campaign, #WengerOut had seemingly been trending for years. The defense looked in poor form, disorganized and full of mistakes from players young and old. To further complicate matters, the vaunted offense of Arsène Wenger had shriveled to anemic standards. A thoughtful and well traveled football mind would be necessary for the reinvigoration of Arsenal; Unai Emery has the resumé to have earned such an opportunity.

Once Upon A Time

Having come off of a successful stint at PSG, Unai Emery’s pedigree was both deep and relevant. At Valencia, Spartak Moscow and Sevilla, Emery demonstrated a supple mind, as well as an innovative mind and spirit. With Arsenal needing a man with a firm grasp on offensive tactics, defensive organization with a history of versatility Unai Emery seemed a marvelous choice.

The first year for any head coach can see issues from personnel, execution and even conforming to the message; Unai Emery had a campaign full of twists and turns. Two losses to Man City and Chelsea shadowed the season from the start before something equally as remarkable were to occur. A steak of 11 wins consecutively, part of a 22 game undefeated streak was certainly in stark contrast to the first two losses of Emery’s tenure.

The first year of Emery was like a ship on the ocean, twisting and turning with the churning of the circumstances surrounding it. The seas would become choppy for Arsenal following this streak of which spanned August to December.

Poor defense and inconsistency on the road would plague Arsenal at the least opportune moments; shock losses to less talented outfits caused Arsenal to finish the season in fifth place. Sitting just outside of UCL qualifications, the best hope Arsenal had was to defeat Chelsea in the Europa League Championship game; a remarkably poor showing was mustered by the Gunners and so, Unai Emery’s first Arsenal campaign was at a close.

While the season ended on disappointing notes, the summer transfer window would be opening. With it, new dreams and ambitions would flow between Europe and England, Madrid and North London. Turin would get Rambo, while Arsenal reloaded in France, Spain and Scotland.

A Summer Holiday, and the same old Song and Dance

Time and players are what managers ask for when they come to a club, and Unai Emery is no different in this way. He was able to convince many that with time and players, Arsenal would begin to play and look as many of his previous outfits had; with offensive intensity from back to front alongside defensive fortitude and organization.

This campaign began completely different for Arsenal, winning matches versus Newcastle and Burnley. There has yet to be any 11 match winning streak or 22 game undefeated streak of course; there has also been a complete lack of consistency in any direction other than mediocre.

With almost three months gone into Unai Emery’s second season therefore, I am left feeling as reactionary as Roman Abramovich; a new manager is needed now and likely has been needed since the end of last season. This conclusion is not an easy one to make but certainly is supported by a litany of evidence.

The Litany of Evidence

Unai Emery has not constructed a cohesive unit. By this, I don’t mean as it relates to commraderie; the team comes to play against teams they consider to their standard. Those that don’t meet that criteria often have a very good chance of upsetting Arsenal, especially if the Gunners are on the road. That does not speak to a mentally powerful squad, despite mentally powerful individual players; this permeates the entire squad.

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The defense continues to flounder despite reinforcements both young and old, fresh and experienced. While David Luis and Sokratis both scored in the Crystal Palace debacle, no other offense came to their aid. Worse still, the defense conceded two goals to bring the match level, ending the match in a disappointing draw.

The defense has done no favors for the offense or Bernd Leno. Leno has looked effective in goal at times this season surely, but he has also given up soft goals when his defense has played properly. The number one goalkeeper must have a greater grasp on the position; Leno does not inspire the confidence of some other big name Premier League keepers.

The offense has been no powerhouse either, despite players like Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Dani Ceballos, Nicolas Pépé and many others. Grannit Xhaka is an eternal disappointment and his verbal altercation in the last match is simply the latest evidence that his spot on the squad could be better utilized.

It is not reasonable to scapegoat this lack of offensive production on the Alexandre Lacazette injury exclusively however; there is too much talent at the Emirates for one player to have such an impact. His play is crucial for the team surely but it is hard to blame the loss of Arsenal’s number nine if we don’t also look to the absence of their longtime number ten.

Unai Emery and Mesut Özil: A Game where no one truly wins

Mesut Özil’s absence from an Arsenal squad or even team sheet has been bizarre and infuriating to many Gooners. I myself thought his year would be magical with such talent on the roster. While the mercurial number ten shines when he is disposed to, leaving him out of the team seems outrageous given his ability, vision and creativity.

Indeed, Unai Emery has faced criticism for this snub; he has defended it in varying ways and means. At first claiming that his practicing is not on par with other players before recently saying that Özil’s “freeze out” has been agreed to from the top of Arsenal on down. This turn of events suggests that the time of Mesut Özil in North London is quickly concluding; an inappropriate if not unexpected end to the tenure of a legendary talent whom hasn’t always played as such.

Between these two, Unai Emery and Mesut Özil, there is no victor for the spoils to go to. Emery keeps a tremendous talent out of his own squad to goad a player in Özil who does not respond to traditional coaching techniques.

Özil meanwhile; loses time in which he should be producing at a very high level still. In his early thirties, Özil will be lucky to receive attention from any big name club moving forward. With the MLS beckoning, Özil’s career appears to be turning into more of a sideshow than headlining act.

The Arsenal Optics

A season and a quarter is not a huge amount of time but for Unai Emery, it’s enough to realize what isn’t working. The defense is not working as it should be with the talent and experience. The offense is not finishing effectively and the midfield is not connecting or supporting either with as much vigor as is necessary. With so much not working properly, Arsenal’s inconsistent play is no great shock.

All of this falls inevitably on the manager. Unai Emery is failing with his mandate and a different name is needed. A boss with definitive vision who can touch and improve great players; Arsenal has many great players after all. The team simply looks listless in many of their matches and it is no longer a matter of playing the waiting game. The Unai Emery era is nearing its conclusion, and the future of Arsenal depends on as much.