Unai Emery - Ex-Arsenal Manager

[Bojan11]

So what’s the verdict after 19 games so far? Has he improved you massively over Wenger?

 

[RedDevil5]

So what’s the verdict after 19 games so far? Has he improved you massively over Wenger?

Pretty similar to them last year really. Top four only, not really challenging for the league. But he deserves more time to get a full verdict. But if this is how he performs, likely not much different from Wenger then.

 

[Bojan11]

Kicked a water bottle at a fan accidentally. Refs won’t include it in their report.

 

[crossy1686]

Something about me loves it when managers who've never managed in the PL come in and think it will be a breeze against all the smaller teams like most other European leagues. They then get a rude awakening around Christmas time when the fixtures go mental.

 

[Alexit]

Not quite sure what to make of him yet. At times Arsenal look mouth-watering, then they collapse mentally...look as though they lack any real steel.

Perhaps Wenger left too much of his stamp on them then. He's got his work cut out.

 

[breakout67]

Not quite sure what to make of him yet. At times Arsenal look mouth-watering, then they collapse mentally...look as though they lack any real steel.

Perhaps Wenger left too much of his stamp on them then. He's got his work cut out.

Arsenal were unplayable at home in most games last season, Emery has added some pragmatism which has improved them away from home but at home they are not as good.

 

[FootballHQ]

Doing fine.

Arsenal have looked better in the bigger games so far to me (which was always achilles heel under Wenger). They were unlucky to get Man. City and Chelsea first up, would do better against both now.

Also got many injuries and the Ozil puzzle to solve.

 

[Bojan11]

Arsenal have looked better in the bigger games so far to me (which was always Achilles heel under Wenger). They were unlucky to get Man. City and Chelsea first up, would do better against both now.

Eh?

From the same set of fixtures Wenger beat Spurs. Drew with Chelsea. Lost to City and United.

Emery beat Spurs, drew against United and lost to City and Chelsea.

So have they done better in big games?

With Wenger it just got stale near the end rather than focusing on the big games. The away record was shocking.

 

[FootballHQ]

Eh?

From the same set of fixtures Wenger beat Spurs. Drew with Chelsea. Lost to City and United.

Emery beat Spurs, drew against United and lost to City and Chelsea.

So have they done better in big games?

With Wenger it just got stale near the end rather than focusing on the big games. The away record was shocking.

Arsenal didn't win at OT since 2006 in league under Wenger. Emery collected a point from his first visit. Factor in generally how dreadful Wenger's record is against Mourinho.

Arsenal had I think under Wenger 1 win in 8 league games against Spurs, Emery won in his first derby.

Fair enough they lost to Chelsea and Man. City but they were really unlucky to get both first two games, played those two now and I don't think Arsenal would lose both, particularly Chelsea.

 

[Bola]

Kicked a water bottle at a fan accidentally. Refs won’t include it in their report.

He looked to absolutely welly it. Surprised that the FA are not taking action.......then again, I'm not that surprised at their double standards

 

[meninred]

Replacing a legendary coach isnot easy. Add to that it is his first season and doenot have too many quality players i would say he has done terrific job so far.

 

[Guy Incognito]

Paper thin first XI decimated by injuries. They are still dreadful in defence.

But Emery hasn't done that bad all things considering.

 

[SquishyMcSquish]

Emery has done well, couple of his signings have made an impact and you can see they have a little more bite about them now. He's been there half a season, you can't expect them to have been utterly transformed. Pochettino, Guardiola and Klopp all experienced tough first seasons in the league, and now it's arguably more competitive than ever.

They're still staying in the top 4 race, which is all that could have been expected by any reasonable fan given how much they spent. They don't have a better squad than any of the top four and I honestly think United also have a superior team on paper.

Emery needs money, and time to properly stamp his methods on the club, same story with Sarri. There will be hiccups with a new manager asserting a unique style. There is little he can do when they suffer serious injury issues and can barely cobble together two central defenders.

 

[NinjaFletch]

If 'they haven't improved' is the worst accusation you can level against Emery then he's doing a good job.

We've seen how turbulent it can be when a manager who has been at a club as long as Wenger leaves. Arsenal ripped off the bandaid last season and they haven't really had to suffer for it. At the end of the day they have the fifth or sixth best squad in the country and they're fourth. They can't expect a lot more, and the real test comes in the summer to see if they can get some players in to make that leap forward.

 

[Boycott]

I think he has done well enough in the style of play to see what the end goal is. He's also did something pretty ballsy which is tell the golden boy Wilshere he is not wanted and following that up by saying to Ramsey and Ozil that they are not too big to be booted. I actually quite like that because for too many years under Wenger it became obvious they became a comfortable club where you can coast along.

However I also think he tries to be too clever in game and their lack of clean sheets isn't not just because of personnel but the lack of settled line-ups.

 

[ShadesOfTomato]

Marginally (at best) better than under Wenger.

Frankly, Emery isn't the quality of manager required to propel them back into title contention any time soon.

 

[Adisa]

5th was always their ceiling. He's had Rob Holding at CB for most games, Koscielny needs to be put down. If you think our defence is bad, their's is from hell. Their midfield is also nothing to write home about. The useless Xhaka, Torreira and a 19-year-old kid.

Marginally (at best) better than under Wenger.

Frankly, Emery isn't the quality of manager required to propel them back into title contention any time soon.

No manager is competing with that squad.

 

[sugar_kane]

Can’t weigh up if he looks more like the bassist from a Clash covers band or a disgraced Blackpool taxi driver.

 

[POF]

He's done a great job. In fact, as a club, they deserve a lot of credit. Sokratis, Guendouzi and Torreira are all fantastic signings and it seems it's only the start of the rebuild as they seem intent on getting higher earners like Ozil and Ramsey off the wage bill. They are also using the Europa league really well to integrate their young players.

They look a far better team than under Wenger. Their defence still isn't great but they're nowhere near as soft as they were under Wenger.

 

[Mastadon]

I think he’s done a fine job so far. Needs more time and money to rebuild the defense especially we easily have the worst defense in the top 6. We got the right manager and the right setup in terms of scouting and recruitment give Emery a couple of seasons and we will be right back in the mix.

Obviously Spurs doing so well put pressure on any manager for instant results but unlike the oil clubs or United we can’t afford to throw money at the problem until it goes away.

 

[MDFC Manager]

5th was always their ceiling. He's had Rob Holding at CB for most games, Koscielny needs to be put down. If you think our defence is bad, their's is from hell. Their midfield is also nothing to write home about. The useless Xhaka, Torreira and a 19-year-old kid.


No manager is competing with that squad.

Exactly. Their squad is indeed about 5th best. Makes me laugh how the acolytes of our previous manager said how our squad is worse than theirs.

But as we've seen with this league, having a good attack and playing offensively gives you a decent chance at finishing higher up the table.

 

[Santi_Mesut_Alexis_87]

He needs to stop overthinking with his subs. He is a bit like Guardiola.

 

[The Boogeyman]

Wenger needed to go because he lost his fire and he lost the locker room, but he wasnt nearly as bad as his critics made him out to be. For most of the last 15 years, he had about the 4th deepest pockets, and the 4th best squad, and he consistently finished top 4. It wasn't until liverpool and tottenham brought in excellent managers that he got passed.

Emery is doing a very solid job, but theres a good chance he gets ~75 points and finishes 5th. Hes not going to outfox or outspend anyone ahead of him, so his best chance to get them back to cl is to win Europa, or to hope someone ahead of them falls back, through something like hazard leaving and a transfer ban, or a mass exodus from tottenham.

 

[el3mel]

5th was always their ceiling. He's had Rob Holding at CB for most games, Koscielny needs to be put down. If you think our defence is bad, their's is from hell. Their midfield is also nothing to write home about. The useless Xhaka, Torreira and a 19-year-old kid.


No manager is competing with that squad.

So they removed Wenger and got Emery to achieve exactly same results ? Why were everyone mocking Wenger then ? He was overachieving according to this logic.

 

[Adisa]

So they removed Wenger and got Emery to achieve exactly same results ? Why were everyone mocking Wenger then ? He was overachieving according to this logic.

This view fails to look at the entire picture. They were going nowhere under Wenger. Tactically, players not improving, consistently loosing games and an utterly poisonous atmosphere among fans .
In some ways, Emery has already imported some of those things and you can see he has a clear tactical plan. That already makes removing Wenger with it. There was no argument for keeping him.

 

[el3mel]

This view fails to look at the entire picture. They were going nowhere under Wenger. Tactically, players not improving, consistently loosing games and an utterly poisonous atmosphere among fans .
In some ways, Emery has already imported some of those things and you can see he has a clear tactical plan. That already makes removing Wenger with it. There was no argument for keeping him.

So they were challenging for top 4, playing decent football and winning odd cup, and it was poisonous atmosphere, but now, challenging for top 4, decent football and waiting for the odd cup and it's positivity and looking forward to the future as if they're going to splash the cash now. You guys have some weird definitions of progress. If we were mocking Wenger for these results then his successor should be too, imho.

 

[Adisa]

So they were challenging for top 4, playing decent football and winning odd cup, and it was poisonous atmosphere, but now, challenging for top 4, decent football and waiting for the odd cup and it's positivity and looking forward to the future as if they're going to splash the cash now. You guys have some weird definitions of progress. If we were mocking Wenger for these results then his successor should be too, imho.

Football fans don't base their mood simply on results. Fan psychology doesn't work like that. Fans will have a positive attitude as long as they believe their club is building towards something. They did not have that under Wenger. However, right or wrong, they believe they do under Emery and the new football operation.

 

[Feed Me]

Emery has done a pretty good job when you consider that the squad isn't all that different to what he inherited. He's definitely taken players and improved them which says a lot about his coaching quality. That said, I'll be disappointed if we haven't overhauled them by the end of the season.

 

[el3mel]

Football fans don't base their mood simply on results. Fan psychology doesn't work like that. Fans will have a positive attitude as long as they believe their club is building towards something. They did not have that under Wenger. However, right or wrong, they believe they do under Emery and the new football operation.

They aren't going to splash the cash so don't where the optimism comes from.

Emery has the new manager aura around him now so fans are positive. 2-3 seasons in of challenging for 4th and 5th and let's talk about positivity.

 

[B20]

He's exceeded expectations so far. Arsenal were a dark horse for the top four and they are in it still. And make no mistake, wenger left behind a shambles of a squad.

This season was always about rebuilding and for emery to learn about the Premiership.

 

[Adisa]

They aren't going to splash the cash so don't where the optimism comes from.

Emery has the new manager aura around him now so fans are positive. 2-3 seasons in of challenging for 4th and 5th and let's talk about positivity.

Yeah, the jury is obviously still out but you can't blame them for at least trying to be positive after years of toxic negatively.
The need to spend some money and with Kreonke, who knows?

 

[Canagel]

So they were challenging for top 4, playing decent football and winning odd cup, and it was poisonous atmosphere, but now, challenging for top 4, decent football and waiting for the odd cup and it's positivity and looking forward to the future as if they're going to splash the cash now. You guys have some weird definitions of progress. If we were mocking Wenger for these results then his successor should be too, imho.

Wenger was totally out of his depth at the end and left the squad in terrible state. Confidence levels were down, they were getting beat by average teams and humiliated against big teams. Emery has added a bit of steel and resolve and they seem a bit more competitive. Arsenal fans expectations from what I read and hear is no more than getting back into the champions league. A bit like us in 16/17. People said we progressed under Mourinho if you remember and it was much better than LVG despite staying in 6th for nearly the entire season. But was happy with the general direction we were going

 

[Adisa]

He's exceeded expectations so far. Arsenal were a dark horse for the top four and they are in it still. And make no mistake, wenger left behind a shambles of a squad.

This season was always about rebuilding and for emery to learn about the Premiership.

I think he's about par. Our abomination of a season has made it look like they are exceeding expectations.

 

[LoveFootball]

Emery has done well, couple of his signings have made an impact and you can see they have a little more bite about them now. He's been there half a season, you can't expect them to have been utterly transformed. Pochettino, Guardiola and Klopp all experienced tough first seasons in the league, and now it's arguably more competitive than ever.

They're still staying in the top 4 race, which is all that could have been expected by any reasonable fan given how much they spent. They don't have a better squad than any of the top four and I honestly think United also have a superior team on paper.

Emery needs money, and time to properly stamp his methods on the club, same story with Sarri. There will be hiccups with a new manager asserting a unique style. There is little he can do when they suffer serious injury issues and can barely cobble together two central defenders.

Agree with this. In my opinion he's doing a great job. People who expected him to do better than this were not being realistic. Actually he's doing better than I expected. He had some players he needs to replace as soon as possible. Great coach really.

 

[charlenefan]

So what’s the verdict after 19 games so far? Has he improved you massively over Wenger?

He's got them playing good football at a more consistent level than Wenger was however unless he gets them top 4 then is that enough of an improvement? I think just like under Wenger lack of investment will be their downfall but then you cant spend what you dont have

 

[mav_9me]

He is doing more than fine.

Their defense wasn't the best to begin with and now have had their first choice back 4 out and their back up central defenders out. What can you expect when Xhaka is one of your 2 central defenders?

 

[haram]

Their luck is running out.

 

[Kag]

I think he’s doing a great job. Arsenal are a lot harder to beat than they were and that unbeaten run was impressive. Bear in mind that his transfer backing was minimal (in today’s context) and his team plays the likes of Rob Holding and Shkodran Mustafi at centre half.

If Arsenal were to finish in the top four then I think they’d be punching well above their weight.

 

[Ayush_reddevil]

He is doing more than fine.

Their defense wasn't the best to begin with and now have had their first choice back 4 out and their back up central defenders out. What can you expect when Xhaka is one of your 2 central defenders?

Not really the truth , he has always had 2 Central defenders fit . He keeps playing 3 at the back with xhaka being one of the 3

 

[mav_9me]

Not really the truth , he has always had 2 Central defenders fit . He keeps playing 3 at the back with xhaka being one of the 3

Holding and the 2 Greek defenders and Mustafi have all been or are currently injured, no? And koscielny is barely able to play, he has been injured so much, God knows if he will get back to his old self.