“Where did Unai Emery come from?”
It wasn’t quite “Arsene who?”, but club legend Ian Wright echoed the thoughts of many Arsenal fans at the news of the outgoing Paris Saint-Germain manager becoming the presumptive new boss at the Emirates Stadium when it looked like Mikel Arteta was the firm favourite for the job.
Arsenal are no strangers to left-field managerial appointments. Wenger himself was famously hired from Nagoya Grampus 8 of Japan, George Graham joined from second-tier Millwall, and further back there are appointments that range from a boardroom-to-dugout league winner and even the hiring of the club’s physiotherapist (Bertie Mee went onto lead the club to the Double in 1971).
Emery is arguably a far safer hire than any of them, as well as compared to Arteta, who, it should be remembered, has never been a manager. He led Valencia to consecutive third-place finishes in La Liga from 2010 to 2012, then topped that with a hat-trick of Europa League titles at Sevilla. It was that resumé which attracted him to PSG, especially the European triumphs given the Parisians’ obsession with the Champions League.
Unai Emery on his philosophy: “Fans want their emotions to come to the surface & the only way to make that happen is to give them a team that transmits emotion; intensity, attacking, scoring goals, competing, fighting.” [Telegraph] #afc pic.twitter.com/6DOwIrq99I
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) May 22, 2018
But it’s his performance in the French capital, especially in that competition, which brings the risk factor for Arsenal. Missing out on the Ligue 1 title in 2016-17 to a thrilling Monaco was unforgivable, but not even the worst moment of that season. That came in PSG’s infamous 6-1 loss to Barcelona in the Champions League Round of 16, blowing a 4-0 lead from the first leg to be knocked out.
Following that up with a limp display against Real Madrid this year, when they were arguably the stronger side, was the symbolic end of Emery’s reign at PSG in a season which saw the Spaniard unable to exert any control over his squad. Neymar‘s arrival as a world-record signing was a clear signal where the power lay, with the Brazilian leading a clique of his compatriots which had far more sway than Emery himself.
The fact that he couldn’t drop Thiago Silva despite the captain’s form tanking, or convince Angel di Maria or Adrien Rabiot to accept position changes, or even institute his favoured formation (4-2-3-1), showed Emery’s usual style of being a hard task-master was falling upon deaf ears. His decision to let Neymar and Edinson Cavani sort out their spat over penalty-taking duties on their own, when the situation was crying out for a manager’s firm hand, indicated he was out of his depth.
Fortunately for him, however, Arsenal do not possess a squad with egos as big or cliques as entrenched. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is the closest they have to Neymar in terms of the superstar personality, while the likes of Mesut Özil, Aaron Ramsey, Henrikh Mkhitaryan and Alexandre Lacazette should be far more malleable than the players Emery had to deal with in Paris.
And if it was true, as largely believed, that these players were too indulged by Wenger, then they’re in for a rude shock. The air of complacency which has settled around Arsenal over the last few seasons is about to be kicked out by a man who is an uncompromising disciplinarian. The club has been desperate for this sort of culture change.
Emery’s sides in Spain had a habit of punching above their weight, and the bare truth is that Arsenal, certainly in the last two seasons, have not been in the same weight class as the rest of the Premier League’s top six. The players simply haven’t been motivated enough. A manager with a demanding, exacting style will change that.
During his interview Emery blew away #Arsenal’s recruitment team led by Gazidis, Sanllehi & Mislintat with a stunning presentation. He provided a forensic analysis of every Arsenal player in the squad & provided detailed stats & info on how he would improve them. Amazing pic.twitter.com/GmMt8tWYj3
— MΣMZ ℹ (@Durchiga) May 22, 2018
The Spaniard has much to address. There is a glaring lack of high-quality centre-backs – Laurent Koscielny has a long-term injury and his form has been waning, while Shkodran Mustafi has never lived up to the top-class billing he arrived with.
Konstantinos Mavropanos showed some promise towards the end of the season, but he needs to be guided well to ensure he doesn’t go the way of Rob Holding and Callum Chambers, who themselves must shake off the over-hyped, under-performing youngster narrative.
Wenger failed to solve the defensive midfield problem after Gilberto Silva left in 2008, with attacking players such as Granit Xhaka, Ramsey, and Jack Wilshere shoehorned into the position in recent years to mixed results, and Emery will no doubt be looking for players more suited to the role. He will at least inherit a supremely talented attack, although fitting Özil, Mkhitaryan, Lacazette, and Aubameyang into a 4-2-3-1 will prove to be a headache.
More than anything, however, what Arsenal have missed most in recent years is the ability to play as a collective, with hunger, spirit, a shared purpose – qualities that Emery’s best sides had in spades.
Arsenal needed to get their first post-Wenger appointment absolutely right. In Emery, they may have found just the man they need.
