No pressure on Emery from the boardroom in the early run-ups
Unai Emery has been reassured he will not be judged on his early results as Arsenal head coach.
Emery made a losing start as Arsene Wenger’s successor, with a 2-0 defeat by Manchester City, and is now preparing for a tough trip to Chelsea on Saturday. Although his team were soundly beaten, there were encouraging signs, such as Matteo Guendouzi’s performance.
Although Guendouzi, 19, made mistakes, Arsenal are fully behind Emery’s decision to blood the midfielder and intend to give him the time and space to make more bold decisions.
Ivan Gazidis, the chief executive, is understood to have told Emery that he and the board understand the fact the club have been handed a tough start to the season.
will be no early panic and Arsenal are confident performances will improve once the squad have worked under Emery for longer.
Emery was appointed ahead of Manchester City assistant Mikel Arteta, who Gazidis spoke to following Sunday’s Premier League opener at the Emirates.
The pair were close during Arteta’s playing days at Arsenal and Gazidis, who has been approached to join AC Milan, is understood to have checked there were no hard feelings over the decision to swap managerial targets to Emery.
Petr Cech urged patience from fans after Arsenal’s attempts to pass the ball out from the back were stifled by City’s high press. “When you start building a new team it may take time.”—