Arsenal: Unai Emery a warning for Mikel Arteta

Mikel Arteta has made a terrific start to life as Arsenal head coach. But then, so did Unai Emery. Arteta’s predecessor should act as a warning for the Spaniard.

It has been quite the start to life at Arsenal for new head coach Mikel Arteta. He may have only won one of his first three games at the helm, including a draw with an injury-ravaged Bournemouth and a last-gasp defeat to a Chelsea team that had lost five of previous seven league matches, but the signs were extremely positive.

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There has been plenty of discussion regarding Arteta’s influence despite his limited time, but one thing above all is clear: his coaching is working. From the greater intensity of the high press to the increased tempo of their play in possession; from the compactness of the entire team from front to back to the work-rate of previously ‘lazy’ players, Arsenal are a simply a better team under Arteta than they have been all season long.

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This, inevitably, has led to wild and sensational excitement rippling through the fanbase. After the dour notes of Unai Emery, the very presence of an intelligent, aware, focused, former club captain standing on the sidelines, dressed like Pep Guardiola and managing a team like the great Manchester City head coach, was enough to make the heart flutter. It should not be surprising that the Emirates has felt like an entirely different stadium with Arteta strutting his technical area.

However, while this response is utterly natural given the circumstances, it is important to remember that this has been two weeks, three matches, a handful of training sessions, and potentially just the natural response of the ‘new manager bounce’. We are dealing with an extremely small sample size. Drawing meaningful conclusions from it would be foolish, to say the least.

And Arteta need only consider the tenure of Emery, his predecessor, as a warning for getting caught up with the tide. Remember when fans were bellowing the infamous words, ‘we’ve got out Arsenal back?’ That was under Emery, after all, at a point when he was being widely praised for the impact of his skilful coaching. A year later, he was out the door.

Now, there are plenty of reasons to believe that Arteta and Emery’s tenures are and will be different. The positive signs during the early stages of Emery’s time were unsustainable. The winning mentality, the snapshot victories, the intermittent high pressing. But what Arteta has implemented can have a more long-lasting impact.

Nevertheless, this is a three-game stretch that has largely been manned by the same players. Is this simply Mesut Ozil turning it on when he feels like it and Alexandre Lacazette trying to prove Freddie Ljungberg wrong?

Emery’s downward trajectory from a positive start is a warning sign for Arteta. The Spaniard would be wise to heed it.