Arsenal: Top 3 reasons 2019/20 season has been catastrophic

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LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 23: Unai Emery, Manager of Arsenal looks dejected after his team concede during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Southampton FC at Emirates Stadium on November 23, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images) /

1. Unai Emery

Ultimately, however, if you are looking for one man — or one process, decision-making moment or approach — to blame for Arsenal’s calamitous 2019/20 season, there is only one place you can look: Unai Emery.

As Mikel Arteta has since proven, it is possible to build at least a vaguely capable team out of these players. And Arteta has dealt with the same if not worse injury issues as Emery did. But Arsene Wenger’s first successor was never able to knit together what should have been a well-defined, offensive-minded, tactically purposeful team.

His team selections were muddled, he lacked strong and clear communication, his system was continually changing, leading to confusion among the squad, he alienated key players to the detriment of the team, his man-management was curious, to say the least, and ultimately, while he initially inspired an element of passion for the team that rescued results in his first season, he began to lead the team into a mire of deplorable defeats and draws against lesser opponents.

Next. Arsenal: 5 players who exceeded expectations in 2019/20. dark

Put very plainly, Emery did a poor job. Was he handed a tough hand? Perhaps. But he also made things worse and was the primary reason for Arsenal’s disastrous form in the first half of the season. Since his firing, they have been close to a top-four Premier League team, and that is not a coincidence.

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