Arsenal: The rise and fall of Unai Emery

The Conflict

Although his plans to work in the youngsters appeared beneficial for the club, Emery’s method was not as fruitful for other Arsenal players. Specifically, players that flourished under the new manager’s predecessor.

Aaron Ramsey played out the final year of his contract and would leave at the end of the season on a free transfer to Juventus. Ramsey was not only a fan favourite; he had spent over 10 years with the club. Whether this decision was forced on Emery or was his own-making is debated, but it certainly did not reflect well on the season as a whole. In less than a month, Arsenal lost three league games. They also lost their first game in the knockout phase of Europa League play, 1-0 to BATE Borisov of Belarus. Following Ramsey’s decision, the Welshman then suffered a hamstring injury that would cut his Arsenal career short. This affected the team’s play in the final weeks of the season.

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Along with Ramsey, Mesut Ozil saw fewer minutes Emery. He was left out of the first team often, sometimes not even travelling with the team. There were rumours that he was looking to exit the club under Emery’s control. Emery insisted that he made it clear to Ozil that he was trying to get the best out of him, but they never saw eye-to-eye. The two carried an icy relationship for the remainder of the season and into the next.

Throughout these feuds with major players, Arsenal’s form deteriorated. It was in the new year that Emery’s honeymoon period began to fade. Form dwindles and Emery’s tactics reinforced inconsistent play. This was seen in mediocracy in the Premier League during the second half of the season, followed by a dismal conclusion.

The final stretch of the season was a wretched run. Although they had struggled in 2019, Arsenal were in position to finish in the top four and cement a Champions League spot. Instead, they lost four and drew one of their last seven games, all of which came against lower-league opposition.

The finale to the Gunners’ miserable run came in the Europa League final. Arsenal’s last hope to sneak into the Champions League dissipated at the feet of Chelsea, who had already leaped ahead of their London rivals in the table. Emery’s side was thrashed 4-1 and the Spaniard faced the wrath of supporters after the game.

Fans were not happy that he started Petr Cech, not only Arsenal’s backup goalkeeper but a Chelsea legend. Emery also switched his tactics, something that was becoming increasingly detrimental. The results were visible and Emery headed into the summer knowing that he came up short not once but twice when Champions League football was in his grasp.

Entering the transfer window, there were more questions than answers, many of which circulated around contending for the Champions League, something that he was brought in to fight for. Looking at the best league in the world from the outside in, a question mark arose: What top player wants to join a Europa League side?

During the summer transfer window, Emery did add a few pieces he had been hoping for. One, a prolific winger in the form of Nicolas Pepe. Pepe arrived from France with no experience of the Premier League and Emery wanted Wilfried Zaha. Arsenal, though, believed the Lille winger was a better value. Emery also won the battle for Dani Ceballos, a Spanish loanee from Real Madrid. Emery was a huge reason why Ceballos settled on Arsenal. Pairing his and Emery’s Spanish background seemed like the perfect match.

William Saliba, Kieran Tierney and Gabriel Martinelli all arrived, too. Saliba would be loaned back to Saint-Etienne for the year, David Luiz arriving late on to add some desperately needed experience at the centre-back position, but these moves, coupled with the Ceballos and Pepe acquisitions raised expectations for the season ahead.

The plan for the 2019/20 season was clear: lean on the veteran leadership and incorporate the new players as well as youngsters into the team. This plan never got off the ground.

Before the preseason had even started, club captain Laurent Koscienly refused to go on the U.S. tour with the team. He wanted to cut his contract a year short to be let off by the team for free, something that Arsenal were not willing to do. He ended up returning to his home country of France to sign with Bordeaux for a small transfer fee. Koscienly left a bitter taste in the Arsenal camp while doing so.

The next potential captain for Arsenal, left-back Nacho Monreal, signed with Real Sociedad the night before the North London Derby. This transfer arose from Arsenal signing Tierney. Arsenal made it clear that Tierney would be the successor to Monreal, and the Spaniard left the club after six years. Thus, another choice for captain out the door.

With Ramsey already gone and now two more experienced players out, Emery appointed Granit Xhaka as his on-pitch leader. The manager left the choice to a team vote, and they turned to their Swiss peer for guidance. Soon after, both Xhaka and Emery fell from grace. The team’s inconsistencies fell on the shoulders of both, and Xhaka was stripped of his captaincy after an outburst of elephantine proportions. It was not long after that Emery would lose his merit as well.