Arsenal and Unai Emery: So, what are they waiting for?

Per Charles Watts of Goal, there is an expectation around the club that Arsenal will fire Unai Emery. This begs an obvious question: what are they waiting for?

Unai Emery is an incumbent. It is quite clear what should happen. For most, it is quite clear what will happen. And yet, it isn’t happening. The Spaniard is still Arsenal head coach.

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As Emery’s second season at the club has progressed, a growing proportion of the fanbase has come to the conclusion that he is not the man to lead the club forward into the post-Arsene Wenger era, so much so that, at present, supporters are oddly unified in their belief that Emery should be fired.

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Despite the growing acceptance that Emery should be moved out, the club has remained resolute in their support of the head coach. Arsenal will be as patient as any other club in modern football, but even for the most optimistic of fans, the support of Emery has reached the maddeningly unfounded stage.

The question of whether to sack Emery is now also rippling through the staff at the Emirates. Per Charles Watts of Goal, there is an expectation that Emery will be fired at some point in the near future. In his report, one source revealed:

"“It’s about results and we are not getting them. It just feels like a matter of time. It’s not like the club is on its knees or anything. The mood is still pretty good, but you are now just waiting to be told the news.”"

This leads to a very basic and confusing impasse: Arsenal want Emery to be fired, the fans want Emery to be fired, the players want Emery to be fired, the analysts and pundits believe Emery should be fired. And yet, he hasn’t been, and reportedly is not going to be until the end of the week, after matches against Eintracht Frankfurt and Norwich City.

It begs the question: what are they waiting for? Why is the club delaying a decision that everyone believes is the right decision, including many of the individuals at the club? It is such an infuriating position that it is totally unfathomable with basic logic. It is impossible to see how these two things — a now unified belief and expectation that Emery should and will be fired with the fact that he hasn’t been fired — compute.

This, sadly, is the state of the club at this present stage. They have managed themselves curiously over the past decade, delaying decisions, failing to invest properly, and denying basic wisdom simply in the cause of the persisting to follow certain values and characteristics that do not actually help.

So, everyone wants Emery to be fired. Everyone now expects Emery to be fired, at some point in the near future. And yet, he hasn’t. What in the world are they waiting for now?