Arsenal vs Villarreal: Unai Emery’s tactical habits to die hard?

Watching on around the world supporters will have been barking orders at Mikel Arteta at half-time as his Arsenal plan unraveled spectacularly in the first leg against Villarreal. A ploy that played right into his opponent’s hands, he had to amend those failings during the break.

Calls along the lines of substituting Dani Ceballos and moving Granit Xhaka into midfield fell on deaf ears, with the Spaniard keeping his team as it was and seeing the most inevitable red card in the history of the game take place shortly after the restart.

There was one Spaniard, however, who did make a change. With his side 2-0 up and cruising without an inkling of a bruising, Unai Emery withdrew Paco Alcacer and brought on Francis Coquelin. As far as shutting up shop goes, it was one of the more conservative substitutions he could have made. How typical.

Coquelin did produce a rather delightful no-look pass to set up Gerard Moreno with a glorious chance, but the Frenchman contributing in the final third is a once in a blue moon occurrence.

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Arsenal vs Villarreal: Unai Emery’s tactical habits could aid Gunners in Europa League ambitions

Were any Arsenal fans surprised by the switch? 18 months of experience suggests otherwise.

That display of conservatism is nothing new, and has been synonymous with his management across his career. If anything, Arteta should have planned for it.

And like that, Villarreal have gone from being in total command of this tie to inviting the Gunners back in with a sniff of redemption. After making that change The Yellow Submarine allowed themselves to be pinned back, even with the extra man, and Arsenal’s goal came as the result of some continued pressure and ‘clever’ play from Bukayo Saka.

Their chance to gift wrap their place in the Europa League final was surrendered, as the two traits of either manager was on full show for the cardboard cutout crowd. Villarreal may well have added to their lead, or held on, but the move was indicative of his style: early changes and a cautious approach leaving a door ajar that could easily have remained closed.

Really, why take off a striker with Arsenal on the ropes? And why so soon? Truly puzzling.

With the second leg fast approaching, Emery’s conservatism could be the key that gives Arsenal an edge on home soil. Can he curb his insatiable appetite?

Unai Emery Tactics May Help Arsenal in Semi-Final Second Leg

It’s a brave (most likely foolish, in all honesty) person who predicts what is to come in the second leg on Thursday. All we can do is work off history and repetition, which suggests that Emery will come into this game sitting back and playing on the break. Arsenal struggling to break down deep sitting sides at home may aid this thinking.

Can he shirk the craving for change?

Opting to field two strikers as he had done for most the season with Samuel Chukwueze doing the job on Granit Xhaka the entire world foretold, the obvious choice would be to repeat that feat once more. Had the Swiss been rested against Newcastle – which he bizarrely wasn’t – then there could have been some uncertainty over where he’d play on Thursday. Given he was at left-back once more, continuity is surely on the cards in midweek.

Should Emery opt to drop Alcacer from his team and go with one up top, which fans’ experiences of the former boss suggest he might, it will play into Arsenal hands.

Granted time to push them back and sustain pressure – the latter point would be greatly aided by Xhaka’s return to midfield – will give the hosts the impetus they need to score the minimum of one goal it may require.

It will suit Arsenal especially with a centre-forward back in the fold, but also means that Hector Bellerin will need to come into the side to provide some sorely needed pace to cover in transition.

Emery is a master of this competition. Highlighting a weakness of his and eyeing how it could benefit Arsenal is one thing, but he knows what it takes to win matches on this stage. Equally, he knows how to throw games away, and even if he reverts to one striker and sits deep looking for moments to break out, it will still require Arteta getting his approach right and the players executing the gameplan.

However, having already thrown his former side a lifeline, there is every chance he could do so again. How crucial could that Nicolas Pepe penalty prove to be?