After a somewhat promising start to the campaign, Arsenal are beginning to fall apart under Unai Emery. The Gunners are winless in their last three Premier League matches and have looked pretty lacklustre even when they’ve managed to secure the three points. They recently drew with Wolverhampton Wanderers, after conceding a late goal to Raul Jimenez.
So essentially, Emery’s job at Arsenal has come under tight scrutiny. And in this article, we will talk about three reasons why the Spaniard should be sacked before January.
Lack of communication
The biggest problem with Emery’s tactical philosophy is that only a few people actually understand it. It is mainly because of his lack of communication skills.
Independent recently published a blog, where it was clarified that “Some of the players do genuinely struggle to understand what he is saying. That is a problem he similarly had at Paris Saint-Germain, even if it comes from an otherwise admirable insistence on speaking the language of the country he’s working in. It’s just that he doesn’t speak it well enough.”
As a result, Dani Ceballos has fit in nicely at Emirates but not his German or English counterparts. And Arsenal’s troubles will only increase if this communication problem persists in the future.
Poor use of resources
Emery has done well to utilise the quality of both Ceballos and Guendouzi. But, Arsenal still have a plethora of quality players but most of them have struggled to integrate themselves to this new regime.
Mesut Ozil, in particular, was treated badly by Emery and was constantly frozen out of the starting eleven until his impressive performance against Liverpool in midweek.
Henrikh Mkhitaryan is another example. The Spaniard completely failed to utilise the traits of the ex-Dortmund playmaker. Same can be said for Lucas Torreira as well, who is still unsure of his preferred role under Emery’s system. Even Nicolas Pepe is yet to make a notable impact from open play this season.
As a result, Arsenal have constantly relied on the services of their youngsters rather than their star players. And this is a serious cause for concern.
Questionable tactical choices
Communication and management aren’t the only things Emery has lacked during his ongoing spell at Arsenal. The ex-PSG boss has also made a plethora of questionable tactical choices, which has cost the club dearly.
For instance, the 48-year-old still wants Arsenal to play out from the back extensively despite having David Luiz and Sokratis in central defence. It is needless to say that none of the two defenders are quite sharp when it comes to technical quality. And even though Luiz was known for his ability to play passes forward, he has evidently lost his touch in recent years.
Moreover, Arsenal’s defensive game has lacked identity, especially following the departure of Nacho Monreal and Laurent Koscielny. The defenders don’t have any clue regarding their markers and the fullbacks often leave acres of space in behind even when the offensive game was focussed more centrally.
All these reasons add up in what has been an awful tenure from Emery at Arsenal. And the Gunners must sack the Spaniard if they are to have any hopes of a proper reformation, preferably in the upcoming January transfer window.
