The former PSG coach failed to meet expectations at the Emirates and
his disappointing 18-month spell in charge came to an end on Friday
For a few months the signs looked good.
Having arrived at Arsenal with the unenviable task of replacing Arsene
Wenger, Unai Emery initially took to the job with impressive ease.
Despite those opening defeats against Manchester City and Chelsea last
season, the Spaniard seemed to unite the squad and the fanbase.
Performances showed genuine signs of promise and results were good.
Arsenal won 10 games in a row between August and October 2018. The 5-1
destruction of Fulham at Craven Cottage had the travelling fans
famously chanting: โWeโve got our Arsenal back.โ
The winning streak came to an end at Crystal Palace, but Arsenal
continued to pick up results and stretched their unbeaten run to 22
games before finally being beaten at Southampton in December 2018.
It was commendable, but even then when you scratched beneath the
surface you could see that all was not as it seemed.
That unbeaten run came with a large slice of luck. The data suggested
that it would not continue and thatโs how things ultimately panned
out.
The way Arsenal ended last season was catastrophic. They somehow threw
away a top-four place and then capitulated in the Europa League final
against Chelsea. It was a mess and unfortunately for Emery, that form
continued into the current campaign.
Unai Emery Arsenal 2019-20
Just four league wins this season mean Emery leaves with Arsenal eight
points adrift of the top four before weโve even reached December. Itโs
the clubโs worst-ever start to a Premier League season after 13 games.
Thursday nightโs defeat against Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa
League means the Gunners have now gone seven games without a win in
all competitions – thatโs the clubโs worst run since 1992.
It left Arsenal with no other option. The truth is that the decision
should have been made far earlier.
Emery won 41, drew 14 and lost 23 of his 78 games as Arsenal boss,
scoring 146 goals in the process and conceding 96.
Mesut Ozil Arsenal 2019-20
There just wasnโt an improvement there from the final years of Wenger.
Defensively things actually got worse in terms of the record in the
Premier League, where Arsenal conceded 67 goals during Emeryโs 51
games in charge.
There is no doubt that he worked incredibly hard during his time in
north London. But the 48-year-old failed on so many levels and in the
end the club was left clouded in confusion due to his indecisiveness
and muddled tinkering.
Heโd lost the fans and heโd lost the majority of the players. London
Colney will now be a far happier place that the decision to sack him
has finally been taken. The respect had long gone; in fact Emery had
become the butt of many jokes.
Talk of his potential dismissal had dominated discussion around
Arsenalโs training centre during the past fortnight, with club staff
just waiting to be told he was gone. The atmosphere had become so
tense that many actually found it uncomfortable to be there.
Emeryโs work ethic was certainly appreciated, but he did not build up
any real rapport with people who worked at the club during the past 18
months. There was no loyalty there, no-one who was really willing to
offer him much support.
And that was clear during these final few weeks. Emery cut an isolated
figure at the training ground. He looked tired, drained and lonely.
The players had completely lost faith in him. That is no surprise
given some of the decisions he took and the lack of decisiveness
showed.
During his 78 games he named nine different captains. Of those nine,
only Laurent Koscielny wore the armband for more than 20 matches.
Emery switched formations by the week. There was no continuity, no
identity. It just ended with a group of players looking totally
confused by what was being asked of them.
Sokratis Laurent Koscielny Arsenal Chelsea Europa League final 2019
And that is how Emery will be remembered. A man who never really knew
what he wanted.
He took on Mesut Ozil, banishing him from the squad, only to bring him
back in when results didnโt go his way.
It was somewhat ironic that when Arsenal went 2-1 down against
Frankfurt in Emeryโs final game, it was Ozil he turned to to try and
salvage something from the match, immediately bringing the playmaker
off the bench.
Granit Xhaka started that game, only a few weeks after Emery had
hinted the midfielder may never play for the club again following his
spat with the fans during the draw with Crystal Palace.
Emery wasnโt strong enough; he couldnโt see things through and he
wasnโt able to win the respect of a group of players who never really
bought into his ideas.
He failed to get the best out of ยฃ72 million club-record signing
Nicolas Pepe. Lucas Torreiraโs form has nosedived after being moved
out of position and star strikers Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and
Alexandre Lacazette have both been left questioning their futures.
It all resulted in Emeryโs position being untenable. He turned up for
training at London Colney as normal on Friday morning, unaware of what
was to come.
But he was soon told by head of football Raul Sanllehi that his time
was up and that Freddie Ljungberg would be leading the session ahead
of Sundayโs trip to Norwich.
The decision ends a reign which lasted 18 months. Emery was a
workaholic, but that was never going to be enough. He will now go down
as a footnote in Arsenal’s rich and proud history, nothing more.
