Arsenal and Unai Emery: From likeable tactician to tactical liability

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery was largely admired early on. Unfortunately, he has now devolved from a likeable tactician to a tactical liability.

After Arsene Wenger’s 22-year reign at the helm came to a somewhat abrupt end, Arsenal were desperate to appoint a man who they perceived to have the same ideologies and polite manner as Le Professeur.

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

Unai Emery was appointed as the new head coach and a complete restructuring of the club’s management systems was undertaken. At first, Emery seemed to possess all of the classy mannerisms that Wenger had, along with a bit of a prickly personality. The Spaniard seemed very decisive, spoke in English in his introductory press conference and ignited the fans with his effervescent manner on the sideline.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• Mikel Arteta provides Gabriel Martinelli injury update after Everton win

However, after an unfortunate end to his first season and a horrendous start to the current one, all of those positives that were once associated with Emery have now seemingly diminished. At first, the former Paris Saint-Germain manager was seen as a master tactician, now he is viewed as so tactically pliable that you would describe him as incompetent.

With every game, Emery has increasingly depicted himself as a tactical liability, rather than a saving grace. His hypnotically boring style of play has large swathes of the fanbase bored when watching our favourite team play. Say what you’d like about Wenger and the undeniably dreadful end to his tenure, under his jurisdiction, the football was certainly never boring. Under the reign of the Spaniard, it almost feels like a chore to watch the team.

Emery seems to be overthinking nearly every decision he makes. His reluctance to play his best team, or at least the team that is largely considered his best by onlookers, suggests he is overreacting to the opposition. While knowing your opponent is of the utmost significance, it is also equally important to play to your team’s strengths and furthermore. Rarely do Emery’s Arsenal impose themselves on their opponents.

Moreover, his over-pragmatism is costing the team time and time again. The Gunners squandered leads in four successive matches as they dropped deeper and deeper, Emery tentative to see his team to put the game to bed. Arsenal have not won a Premier League game this year by more than one goal.

The £170 million pound strikeforce of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang and Nicolas Pepe is far from a poor front three, either, and yet seems very cautious to unleash them alongside a creative midfield to provide openings for them.

In under 18 months, Emery has turned from the loveable sweetheart who started every interview and press conference with ‘Good ebening’ to the very reason that the team is a shambles. The rapid decline of Emery has been a fascinatingly depressing spectacle to witness, leading to the obvious question of ‘when, not if, will he be fired?’