Said at the start of the season they would struggle to get top four and despite some getting giddy early on, I stuck by that assertion. This team is a-bit of a mess really.
Unai Emery - Ex-Arsenal Manager
- Thread starter crossy1686
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Personnel is lacking in midfield eh.
Correct.
We really do have a mess of a squad. Two quality strikers, three talented central midfielders, decent full backs and then everything else is a bit up in the air. We desperately need quality wingers and centre-backs. Sounds like we're close to a couple of wingers, not sure where we'll find our VVD.
Form has clearly fallen off a cliff since the Spurs game, which is obviously a concern, but he'll get it back. The main concern is that there doesn't seem to be a position for Ozil in Emery's Arsenal, and he's not on the type of wage bracket where you can afford to leave the player on the bench. Hopefully we can sort something in the summer to see him move on.
They have some injuries as usual and their defense and the team as a whole defensively isnt good enough, similar to us. Leno is also hit and miss, but again his first season. They are exactly where i expected them to be, they have some work to do over the summer in terms of squad additions and improving positions.
They have 5 players out including 3 CB and their starting pair. Not surprising they've dropped off. Any team would struggle.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/fc-arsenal/sperrenundverletzungen/verein/11
They've done very well considering. Ozil is a strange one, can see why Madrid got rid. His attitude seems way off.
https://www.transfermarkt.com/fc-arsenal/sperrenundverletzungen/verein/11
They've done very well considering. Ozil is a strange one, can see why Madrid got rid. His attitude seems way off.
He is doing allright given the squad at his disposal is clearly the worst out of the top 6. Only area that is somewhat even is forwards.
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Wonder how many thought the same at this time.
Well everyone except Liverpool, presumably.
Im not really convinced by Emery tbh in the context of im assuming Arsenal have the intention of hitting pre Emirates heights again. He over complicates things and is very poor (and im talking Brendan Rodgers esque poor) at coaching defensive strategys, he's a good Europa level manager but no more.
He's getting the benefit of the doubt so far because it's first season and he isn't Wenger, but i think the doubts will creep in with the fans before long.
Getting torn to pieces as expected.
I always had doubts about them. But the game against us confirmed them. No self respecting side with proper ambitions should have failed to win that one.
I always had doubts about them. But the game against us confirmed them. No self respecting side with proper ambitions should have failed to win that one.
Think they have a plan but its a huge work ahead. They need a dominating CB and couple of midfilders who can actually make a pass .
Emery will get it right but will take time.
Emery will get it right but will take time.
Suicide football today. Complete trash tactics.
Don't know much about Emery but was he ever that good? He did manage to lose the league to Monaco at PSG.
It's almost an insult
Was a good Monaco side to be fair.
Why does he basically never start Lacazette...?
They always look better with him on the pitch, yet he doesn't come on until the 2nd half, or he'll get hooked at halftime if he starts.
Are Arse fans as baffled by this as neutrals are? What's the consensus on Arse forums etc?
Will Lacazette be looking to leave in the Summer?
They always look better with him on the pitch, yet he doesn't come on until the 2nd half, or he'll get hooked at halftime if he starts.
Are Arse fans as baffled by this as neutrals are? What's the consensus on Arse forums etc?
Will Lacazette be looking to leave in the Summer?
He's a good manager. But there were lots of ignorant posters marking him as some progressive manager when he isnt.
I read somewhere that at youth level Lacazette had stamina problems so maybe that has something to do with it. I do not rate either Auba or Lacazette that highly anyway.
What do you mean by progressive?
Someone that focuses on playing high up the pitch and dominating possession. Emery has a good amount of tools in his managerial belt, likes himself a physical midfield that can play in multiple phases so he can utilise his tactical insight.
If I were to think of progressive managers, I would say Guardiola, Sarri and Tuchel are prime examples.
Let's calm down. Judge in a year. Caf is full of posts jumping the gun. Salah thread. Klopp thread. Etc etc
What we need is a professor's calm influence
Always been a mediocre coach. Arsenal letting Wenger go to get him in was ridiculous from when it happened.
I wouldn't say mediocre. But the hallmark of his teams is organization and Arsenal defence has been neglected for years. It'll take longer than 6 months to sort it out.
Wenger was never interested in solving those issues. It's only this summer they finally got a DM.
A mediocre DM at that. He's not even a great pragmatic coach ala Simeone. I really don't get the logic around this appointment. Can't remember ever watching his team's and thinking he could hang with the likes of Klopp, Allegri, Simeone and Pep.
What was the manager supposed to do with 50 million though. They need to be spending 50 million on one defender.
So the hype over this guy is over I guess?
Am I right on thinking the majority on here thought it would be easy improving on Wenger? Doesn't seem to be working out that way. Looks like the best explanation for their continued lack of success was simply limited resources for a sustains period of time.
I remember a post here calling him the best tactical astute manager in the league after that Spurs game. 
It was a Liverpool supporter I remember..I remember a post here calling him the best tactical astute manager in the league after that Spurs game.
Exactly. People hail klopp as some messiah but the reason liverpool are at the top is because they have spent the most this summer. That arsenal defense is shocking.
Haven’t improved since last season.
Agreed. To be honest they are lacking in quality all over the pitch. A midfield of Terreira, Xaka, Ramsey isn’t going to create much. Iwobi is pretty poor. Defence is awful; the keeper is okay.
They need a lot of signings to compete wit the top teams.
One day, many Arsenal fans will look back and say...
I can't believe we were complaining when we were in the top 4 every season, won trophies on a regular basis, reached the Champions League final, and so on.
I think I am right in saying that Wenger won 10 major trophies in 20 years at Arsenal. This just isn't going to happen again. When they were finishing in the top 3, winning the FA Cup, and losing in the CL knockout stages to Barcelona, they were overachieving, not underachieving.
All that happened was that Wenger raised the bar of expectations due to what he achieved during the first 10 years of his tenure. But the goalposts have shifted big time since then. And, equally importantly, the owners of Arsenal couldn't care less about results. The only reason they sacked Wenger was that there were empty seats in the stadium, and it looked bad.
If Kronke had a choice between Arsenal winning 5 straight PL titles, and the major clubs of Europe banding together, creating a European Super League, and including Arsenal, he would pick the latter all day long. Because it's money in the bank for him.
Nothing will change for Arsenal until the regime changes, and even then it might not be enough. I find it hard to imagine a scenario in which they can compete with the oil clubs and Man United. Liverpool are doing it now because they've invested very heavily, in a way that Arsenal never have, and probably never will.
They may enjoy the odd period of overachievement, as Spurs are now, until it all inevitably falls apart. But Arsenal fans will just have to accept that they're not in the top tier of clubs any more, and might not be ever again.
Nothing new, it already happened to other clubs, such as Everton, Leeds, Newcastle, etc.
I can't believe we were complaining when we were in the top 4 every season, won trophies on a regular basis, reached the Champions League final, and so on.
I think I am right in saying that Wenger won 10 major trophies in 20 years at Arsenal. This just isn't going to happen again. When they were finishing in the top 3, winning the FA Cup, and losing in the CL knockout stages to Barcelona, they were overachieving, not underachieving.
All that happened was that Wenger raised the bar of expectations due to what he achieved during the first 10 years of his tenure. But the goalposts have shifted big time since then. And, equally importantly, the owners of Arsenal couldn't care less about results. The only reason they sacked Wenger was that there were empty seats in the stadium, and it looked bad.
If Kronke had a choice between Arsenal winning 5 straight PL titles, and the major clubs of Europe banding together, creating a European Super League, and including Arsenal, he would pick the latter all day long. Because it's money in the bank for him.
Nothing will change for Arsenal until the regime changes, and even then it might not be enough. I find it hard to imagine a scenario in which they can compete with the oil clubs and Man United. Liverpool are doing it now because they've invested very heavily, in a way that Arsenal never have, and probably never will.
They may enjoy the odd period of overachievement, as Spurs are now, until it all inevitably falls apart. But Arsenal fans will just have to accept that they're not in the top tier of clubs any more, and might not be ever again.
Nothing new, it already happened to other clubs, such as Everton, Leeds, Newcastle, etc.
I still maintain that you have to give a new manager in the Premier League a lot of leeway in the first season. Pochettino, Guardiola and Klopp all took a first season before building truly capable sides, all three suffered embarrassing defeats where their teams looked tactically clueless. Has he significantly improved Arsenal? No, but I do think they're a bit better in certain aspects, and he hasn't taken them backwards despite the teams around them having higher budgets (except for us, but we have the benefit of a very settled team).
He needs money, that Arsenal squad right now has been crippled by injuries in key areas, and fundamentally needs surgery anyway. It's totally unreasonable to hand a manager the dysfunctional mess Wenger left behind and expect them to achieve top four with the competition the way it is. He brought in Torreira who has improved them, but then what? A few desperate on the cheap signings, a slap in the face really for a new manager at a wealthy club who have been struggling on the pitch of late.
They have average players across the field, the starting lineup today was a hideous monster. Liverpool can beat any team 5-1 at home if the referee hands out penalties like sweeties, the result in isolation is no real surprise when you're working with that backline and midfield. Their board needs to take a serious look at the situation and realise that they aren't going to get back in to the Champions League unless they provide genuine investment, because right now Emery has them exactly where you would expect them to be in the league table. Do they have a better squad than City, Spurs, Chelsea or Liverpool? No. And none of these teams are underperforming, they're all playing to a high level, and with this level of competition it is totally unfair to expect more from Emery, the blame lies with the board in allowing this rot to set in.
He needs money, that Arsenal squad right now has been crippled by injuries in key areas, and fundamentally needs surgery anyway. It's totally unreasonable to hand a manager the dysfunctional mess Wenger left behind and expect them to achieve top four with the competition the way it is. He brought in Torreira who has improved them, but then what? A few desperate on the cheap signings, a slap in the face really for a new manager at a wealthy club who have been struggling on the pitch of late.
They have average players across the field, the starting lineup today was a hideous monster. Liverpool can beat any team 5-1 at home if the referee hands out penalties like sweeties, the result in isolation is no real surprise when you're working with that backline and midfield. Their board needs to take a serious look at the situation and realise that they aren't going to get back in to the Champions League unless they provide genuine investment, because right now Emery has them exactly where you would expect them to be in the league table. Do they have a better squad than City, Spurs, Chelsea or Liverpool? No. And none of these teams are underperforming, they're all playing to a high level, and with this level of competition it is totally unfair to expect more from Emery, the blame lies with the board in allowing this rot to set in.
Is Emery doing to Ozil, Ramsey and Lacazette what Mourinho did to so many of our players?? I can see things going pear-shaped (again) at the Emirates. Elneny not even getting a sniff either. The players won't put up with it forever. We know Kroenke is never going to invest big time whilst he's building his shiny new stadium in the States. So I don't understand why Emery's alienating his big name players?
Ozil, I get but why is he not playing Lacazette?? Bringing him on when they were 5-1 down today is just plain stupid. He's not doing himself any favours with his tactical decisions.
Long may it continue though.
Ozil, I get but why is he not playing Lacazette?? Bringing him on when they were 5-1 down today is just plain stupid. He's not doing himself any favours with his tactical decisions.
Long may it continue though.
Weird phrasing. Wenger simply had to go. Should have gone in 2015. Emery could finish 10th and that wouldn't change that Wenger should have been gone 2015 at the absolute latest.
Was just talking to a friend today that thought at the beginning of the season the best Emery could do was 6th because of the mess Wenger left us in but we'd probably get 8th. 8-10th is where he thinks Arsenal would be placed now if Wenger was still in charge.
Most Arsenal fans (including myself) wrote the season off in the summer. The club was a mess. Having any expectations on this season would be an exercise in self-flagellation. Most I know won't even start evaluate Emery until the seasons over.
PS:
For the record I do think he has improved on Wenger. Some of the stale, ineffective back room staff are finally gone and if Wenger was here we'd still be seeing the ineffectual Ozil every match.
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No. Ozil has been shite before Emery, he isn't physically what he was a few seasons ago and whilst the technical ability is there you can afford few PL games with a passenger in midfield. He's useful against teams who sit deep but that's about it. Ramsey? Since when has Ramsey ever been that good. He's an alright midfielder, nothing more or less. He's been no better or worse this season than he has in previous ones. Lacazette is a decent striker but not as good as Aubameyang and Emery obviously feels the side lacks balance with them both in the team. I don't think it's a bad choice to have Laca as someone to bring on late. If Ramsey is being counted as a 'big name' player then I think that encapsulates Arsenal's real issues. Elneny is shite.
If Kroenke won't invest, then the team will continue to be nothing more than a top six side. Emery isn't perfect tactically but the fundamental problem is a lack of quality throughout the team, they need serious investment across the field which they won't get. Arsenal were being carried by Ozil/Sanchez under Wenger, they were the two top quality stars the club possessed. The former isn't what he was due to a combination of physical decline/lack of giving a feck, and the latter has left the club. They brought in Auba and Mkhitaryan, but whilst the former is an excellent finisher he's not grabbing any game by the scruff of the neck, and the latter has been terrible. Then you take in to account the fact that Koscielny (their only reliable cb for years) has broken down and not been replaced, and it's pretty obvious why you get results like today.
They need better players.
Spot on. Have to agree with you mate. Sadly, it's time to face the truth. We are a club with history, but can't be considered a big one anymore and overall.
Look on the bright side, mate, I grew up supporting Grimsby! Arsenal can still make the top four sometimes, they will still win the odd cup. I can't see how they can possibly compete for the biggest trophies, though. Even if the owners were 100% committed to winning it would be tough, but as it stands I wouldn't give them a snowball in hell's chance.
Actually, looking at your username, why should anyone expect the current team to do as well as when Arsenal had Cazorla, Sanchez and a younger, fully fit Ozil? They don't have players that good any more.