Arsenal: Unai Emery post-game press conference utterly outrageous

Arsenal’s performance against Vitoria SC on Wednesday was bad enough. But then Unai Emery compounded it with some outrageous post-game comments.

In Wednesday’s 1-1 away draw with Vitoria SC, Arsenal produced seven shots. Four of those came from set-pieces. They scored one goal, from a freekick. In the whole 90 minutes, they played one pass into the penalty area, Nicolas Pepe’s freekick for that very goal. They conceded 15 shots, ten of which were in a deplorable first-half performance. This was Unai Emery’s side at their very worst.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Unai Emery out, again

And yet, for however uninspiring the team display was, it pales in comparison to Emery’s comments in his post-match press conference. And that is more concerning than any tactical element that you might want to dissect.

Emery opened up his press conference with the following statement:

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"“Good evening. In this competition, our objective is to be first in the group and we have 10 points and we are first. We are going to play the next two matches to make sure of that position.”"

That may be true. Arsenal did draw the match and they do stay top of the group. But the focus on the result is not the most pertinent aspect of this outing here. That, though, would not stop Emery. He continued to bludger the point that his side are top of the standings:

"“A little disappointed for the result because we wanted to win, but we are first in the group and we want to make sure of that position in the next matches.”"

After veering way from commenting on the performance, Emery was pressed to offer a more detailed analysis. He started talking about how the primary focus of the team was to keep a clean sheet.

"“Our objective this evening was also to keep a clean sheet because we need to improve defensively and be strong in that moment. We are using each match to achieve that.”"

And then, his most egregious comment came to close out the press conference. The following answer is in reply to a question asking about the lack of creativity his team showed against a lesser opponent.

"“They are very defensive with a big defensive structure. It is not easy because they were defending very deep and together, and to find and create small spaces was not easy against this team. We want to improve and also to continue in our way, how we can prepare the next match to be strong defensively and also create chances, and get that balance to win the next matches. Today, our objective was to continue to be top the group. A little disappointed not to win, but that point means we are still top of the group.”"

Despite being asked about the lack of attacking ingenuity of his team, Emery ended it by, you guessed, talking about how his team still stip ‘top of the group.’

Now, none of what Emery actually says is false. Arsenal are top of the group. That is a good thing. He did set his team up to be defensively sound, and they were semi-improved in this area, though they would struggle to get much worse. But it is what he did not say, and what he avoided saying, that is so troubling.

Emery did not comment on the worrying performance of the team. He did not detail why his team struggled to create chances, other than praising the opposition for being well organised. He offered no solution to the underlying problems that are routinely undermining his team’s progress: the lack of ball progression; the inability to control matches in central midfield; the slow play from out the back; the utter absence of ingenuity and dynamism in the final third.

Perhaps he is scared to mention these problems because it will alert his superiors to the reasons why he should be sacked. Perhaps he is so focused on the result that he does not want to — or believes he should — discuss the overall performance. Or, even worse, perhaps he thinks his team is playing well. Perhaps they are doing what he is asking of them and that this is a ‘positive display’. Whatever it may be, for however deplorable Arsenal’s performance against Vitoria was, Emery’s post-match comments were even worse.