Arsenal and Unai Emery: A question of when, not if

The pressure is only building on Arsenal head coach Unai Emery, so much so that his sacking is not a question of if, but when.

You would be forgiven for thinking that Arsenal are being a little over-loyal in their seeming irrefutable support of head coach Unai Emery. For the second post-international break game in succession, there was a tentative hope that the two-week break would help instigate change in a stagnating, declining team. And for the second time in succession, that could not have been further from the case.

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The Gunners were under increasing pressure to move on from Emery after the 2-0 defeat to Leicester City, in which the team approached the game in a manner that ceded their deficiencies and inferior form. But they chose to stick with their head coach. Why? Well, they still believed in his ‘process’, despite the mounting evidence pointing to the contrary, and they felt that four kind Premier League fixtures offered the opportunity for Emery to instigate confidence into his team.

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That kind run started on Saturday afternoon, a home match against 19th-placed Southampton, who had conceded more than three goals per game across their last seven matches, including nine in a hapless performance against the very team that Emery was so hesitant to take on.

As we all saw, the confidence-boosting victory against Southampton was nowhere to be found. Not only did Arsenal have to rely on a last-gasp Alexandre Lacazette equaliser that no one celebrated, the team and fans equally disappointed that the goal might save Emery; they were utterly outplayed throughout, allowing more shots than Southampton had had in their last three games and conceding several gilt-edged opportunities that should have been converted.

If Emery was going to turn around his struggles in north London, it would have started at the weekend. It didn’t.

That reveals a fairly blatant and concerning conclusion: the question of whether to sack Emery is no longer one of if but when. Emery will be sacked. The only doubt is when that will be.

Prior to the Southampton draw, there was still slender hope that Emery might turn things around. While it looked unlikely, the board still supported Emery, the players told of their desire to work for their manager, believing in his work and hoping for the future, and there was at least the four-game run to hold onto.

But now, none of those things ring true. There is reported dissension among the Arsenal board, with Emery reportedly on ‘borrowed time’, the players look dejected and disinterested on Saturday, as if Emery no longer has their support, and that kind of run of fixtures has already been ruined.

Whether Arsenal sack Emery, then, is not a question worth asking. They will fire him. They will have to. Things will not improve. The only doubt now is when, and sadly, that might be a lot later than it should be.