Arsenal: Mikel Arteta must continue one thing Unai Emery did right

Unai Emery took the post-Wenger fall at Arsenal, but he did a lot of things right. One thing in particular Mikel Arteta must continue to do.

We should have all expected that anyone who took over after Arsene Wenger would fail. So much of what drew players to Arsenal revolved around that one man and his prolific reputation and Unai Emery just didn’t have that same quality. And thus, the team gradually fell apart.

To be fair, it wasn’t all his fault, and to completely discredit every step he took is foolish. In fact, I actually admire a lot of the things he did, such as taking a hard line on performance, sitting anyone who didn’t live up to his standards.

But the big success that Unai Emery showcased was how well he utilized his youth products. Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli were mainstays in the Emery set-up, as was Matteo Guendouzi, and if there is one thing that I want to see Arteta continue on form the Emery era, it’s that.

Namely Gabriel Martinelli, who was, I’d wager, the last lifeline of Unai Emery’s fading managerial career. Obviously it didn’t save him, but he was really helping us remember that Emery does know what he’s doing, he just isn’t doing enough.

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

Martinelli has only just returned from injury and he was used as a sub against Leeds United by Mikel Arteta. Now, it has to be said that Arteta has clearly shown his favoritism in Reiss Nelson, but with Martinelli back and Saka about to be bumped out of leftback by Sead Kolasinac, we’ll see what the new manager does.

If he sticks with Nelson, I can’t fault him. But my one concern is that all of these youngsters will end up taking a back seat to a front four of Alexandre Lacazette, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe.

I say ‘concern’ because I wager two of those guys are leaving in the coming months and a third (Lacazette) may not be far behind. See, I’m all about forward thinking. And Martinelli gave us just as much attacking prowess as Lacazette, if not more. So it won’t be an easy decision, but I think we need to see Arteta take the Emery approach and err on the side of Martinelli.

Because, let’s be honest, that’s not really an err at all. No one will ever complain if Martinelli is starting. Ever.