As Simon Collins sounded the final whistle on Saturday afternoon, you could hear and feel the atmosphere. There was something different from the atmosphere in comparison with the other losses of the season and seasons before. The atmosphere after loses are usually accompanied with large boos and whistles against the players and manager, this time, though, there seemed to be an element of silence, not like the silence that comes with calm but that which comes with disappointment. That which signified the fans had already accepted the fate of another disappointing outing even before it was decide.
Arsenal is the past few years have been relatively polarising, there have been many divisive figures, like Mesut Özil who while he has had his detractors have also had his faithfuls, both parties having at least fairly debatable arguments as to why he should stay or leave. Same can be about, former skipper, Granit Xhaka, and even ex manager and Arsenal icon, Arsene Wenger. Unai Emery, though, has gotten to a point that even his most loyal supporter can not help but question if he’s the man for the job. You’d find it very difficult to consistently get one(1) out of every twenty(fans) who would advocate for Unai to keep his job.
The very minute few who try to be optimistic, circumstances irrespective, keep pointing to Jurgen Kloop’s first few years as Liverpool boss given the finished 8th in his first year. That would be a valid point, though, if Emery’s team showed signs of improvement, but the reverse has, quite honestly, been the case. Jurgen Kloop didn’t invest as much money as has been invested under Unai Emery. You could see Kloop’s philosophy taking shape in bits even if the personnel available to him just weren’t good enough to effectively execute it at a consistent basis. In the case of Emery though, Arsenal have become ‘protagonists’ who keeps getting protagonised, they have become a pressing team who can’t press.
Arsenal were always a bad defensive team, even under Wenger, but were very much renowned for their free flowing attacking prowess. Under Emery, they have only gotten worse defensively and have also forgotten their attacking prowess. The attacking trio of Aubameyang-Lacazette-Pepe cost a combined €200m yet Arsenal have a negative GD after 13games, the last time this happened was in the 1982/83 season. Arsenal seemed for have forgotten everything they used to know, from the beautiful one touch football to the free flowing attacking moves, they only failed to forget one thing… Bad defending.
Under Unai Emery, this once great team that inspired fear into the heart of the mightiest of teams now fails to inspire even the tiniest bit of fear in the heart of the tiniest calibre of oppositions. The time has clearly come to path ways with Unai Emery and accept that this was a failed bit a experiment, the biggest step in solving a problem is acknowledging the presence of the problem. The board have to actually accept their mistake in hiring Emery and then do the necessary. Emery has lost the dressing room and when it gets to this point, there’s always no going back as no amount of tactical changes would make the players play for the manager again.
Arsenal are only delaying the inevitable, a decision that, ultimately will be made. The reason for the delay best know to them, is it the financial cost of sacking him? Sacking Emery will cost the club £6m, but missing out on the UEFA Champions League, yet again, will cost the club £46m, that’s before additional revenues received for advancing past stages in the competition. Arsenal must sit down and count the cost of every decision they have to make now. Is it the financial loss of firing Emery that’s keeping them?….. Or is it just a lack of Ambition?
