It’s the new
But after all the secrecy, the coach must play ball
WHEN Arsene Wenger finally announced his decision to quit Arsenal after 22 years, chairman Ivan Gazidis fronted up to the cameras and promised fans a “brave decision” over his replacement and a “bold appointment”.
Yesterday Unai Emery – an affable, eager, energetic and, with his impossibly shiny black hair, relatively youthful alternative to the 68-year-old Frenchman – was presented.
Beside him, Gazidis transmitted an air of supreme self-satisfaction having wrongfooted most attempts to keep up with his plans. Names like Max Allegri, Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti, Thierry Henry, Patrick Vieira, Mikel Arteta and Julian Nagelsmann were linked with the job.
Gazidis admitted that the club had interviewed eight candidates and, in truth, that collection of red herrings will in fact be a fair approximation of that hitlist.
Subsequently, it was whittled down to three: Emery, Arteta and probably Nagelsmann.
Nobody knows for sure, of course. “Those that know, don’t speak; those that speak, don’t know,” said Gazidis smugly.
He did reveal that those truly in the know – himself, head of recruitment Sven Mislintat and head of football relations Raul Sanllehi – ended their search by writing down individual first, second and third choices on pieces of paper and throwing them into the middle of the table.
All three notes said the same and consequently a 100-page dossier on Emery was presented to the Kroenke family for their ultimate approval.
This, then, was a “unanimous” decision. Undoubtedly it was a “scientific” one and clearly “meticulous” comes to mind as well. But “brave”?
Equally the only thing that strikes you as “bold” about Emery is the font used for the key aspects of his comprehensive presentation slides to the panel. In essence, tasked with the opportunity for regime change at the end of 22 years, the Arsenal board went to French football to find a professorial, footballobsessed fanatic of passing football with a fixed singlemindedness and an incredible eye for detail.
Emery differs from Wenger in one important regard, however.
Unlike his predecessor, the new “head coach” – not manager – is willing to work in the brave new world that Gazidis has been constructing. Many of Wenger’s responsibilities will not be taken on by Emery – they are already in the hands of the others.
As a result, in future Emery will be far more dispensable than Wenger so there is a greater pressure on him to prove his worth. To that end, he intends to take on Wenger’s philosophy and add some much-needed energy.
“Wenger has left a very important legacy here – he did some fantastic things for this club,” said Emery. “Therefore I want to both continue with that and contribute something of my own as well.
“I’ve always been a coach who wants possession. But there’s something I’d like to add to my philosophy: that I like to win the ball back as quickly as possible. So it’s about possession and pressing. Football is a demanding and difficult sport but what I want is for Arsenal to transmit energy and emotion to the fans.
“Really I think this stadium has everything we need to get that feedback from the fans.”
Emery, 46, will know from his extensive research that it was Emirates apathy that ultimately was the undoing of Wenger. So his appeal to the hearts and minds of the Arsenal fans is a deliberate one. He makes no apology for that.
“I’m a coach that has come from the Spanish second division, gone through to the first division, coached at PSG and now Arsenal,” he said. “And the essence of it all is people.
“The most important thing is to connect with people and have those personal relationships. Heart to heart; head to head.
“The heart transmits emotion, the head intelligence. So it’s really important to have that connection. What you’re looking for is a shared experience.”
Forget Arsene. These days the message to Arsenal fans is simple.
In “a robust corporate infrastructure developed to support a head coach in accentuating performance on the field through the cohesive channelling of a diversity of expertise and resource” we trust.
Wenger has left a real legacy