Arsenal: Unai Emery and the supporter disconnect

Arsenal head coach Unai Emery spoke at length about ‘connecting with supporters’ in his press conference on Wednesday. And yet, if there is anything he has failed to do this season, it is precisely this.

It seems as though it is the beginning of the end for Arsenal head coach Unai Emery. The Spaniard was asked about his future in Wednesday’s pre-match press conference ahead of a Europa League match against Eintracht Frankfurt on Thursday. Emery could barely muster a response, stating that the focus for his future is solely centred on the next match. He has been given an ultimatum.

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Emery was grilled in Wednesday’s press conference. He looked like a beaten man, dejected about the form of his team, disheartened by his failure to deliver as he would have hoped, recognising that this is all coming to an end shortly.

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One thing that was unavoidable to notice from his comments was how he spoke about the ‘supporters’. He said the word ‘support’ or ‘supporter/s’ 23 times. Here are just a couple of moments where he really hammered home his point about connecting himself and the team to those at the Emirates and beyond:

"“My only focus is to show tomorrow a good performance and connect with our supporters. We know our supporters are disappointed but tomorrow we have the chance to come back with our supporters in the Emirates and show them that reaction <…> I know some doubt is coming about the results but my objective is to change that and come back with the performance and connect with the supporters. The players need to connect with the supporters and the supporters need to help the players.”"

It is difficult to know if he is shifting the blame onto the fans — this would be in a similar fashion to the statement the club released prior to the international break, describing the supporters’ reaction as ‘noise’, stating that it was to blame for creating a hostile environment that suffocated the players and did not allow the team to flourish — or merely just highlighting the present disconnect between the club and the fans, but it is noticeable how much onus he puts on the relationship.

Later in the press conference, Emery is asked explicity whether he feels the club has ‘lost the connection with the supporters’. This is what he said:

"“They are angry and they are now disappointed, but we are as well. Tomorrow we have a very big opportunity to change that and this is my wish. This is also my idea and to create a big atmosphere in Emirates with our supporters. Each match here in the Emirates with our supporters is very important. We need their support. They need it more than me because they’re on the pitch and they need to feel them backing them over 90 minutes.”"

Without being explicit, this is an admission. He and his team have lost the connection with the supporters. In fact, in his second season in charge, bar a few rare comeback moments in second halves, largely borne out of desperation than deliverance, he never really had the connection that he so desperately speaks of and strives for.

If Emery is shifting the blame, then that, like the club’s prior statement, is poor, to say the least. The supporters are there to support the team, yes, but they are also paying fans. They deserve to give their opinion. If he was doing his job well, that opinion would not be the ‘noise’ that it apparently has been.

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Either way, Emery and the supporters do not see eye-to-eye. He may talk about the need for a connection, but he does not have it. And at this point, it looks as though he never will. Emery, Arsenal and the fans are totally disconnected from one another. It is a sad state of affairs indeed.

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