Sunday People

Emery era is Gunner be a slow burner ’I SAW THINGS TO IMPROVE’

- By PAUL BROWN at The Emirates Stadium

UNAI EMERY watched Arsenal finally achieve lift-off under his leadership and then insisted their best is yet to come.

The sloppy Gunners were in trouble when Marko Arnautovic put West Ham in front – but roared back with goals from Nacho Monreal, Danny Welbeck and an Issa Diop own goal.

It meant they stopped the rot after back-to-back defeats and avoided losing their first three league games of a season for the first time since 1954.

But it was a messy, unconvinci­ng display with the Hammers, who remain pointless, threatenin­g to add to Arnautovic’s solitary strike on several occasions.

Arsenal did not make Emery’s first three points in the Premier League safe until Welbeck struck deep into stoppage-time, and by then Hammers skipper and star man Arnautovic had gone off injured.

Emery said: “We are happy. We needed to win and show our supporters a match with three points. But it’s clear we need to improve and not concede so many chances.

“I saw good things, but also things to improve. In the first half we suffered more than we wanted. But the win gives confidence for the players. The first half, we needed calm.”

Aaron Ramsey, back in the team after Mesut Ozil missed out with what Emery insisted was flu and not because of a traininggr­ound row, claimed Arsenal are now heading in the right direction.

He said: “It’s a new process for us. We had a tough start and are trying to improve every game.

“We are progressin­g every game, it was open at times, but I am glad we got a win. He wants us to press high up the pitch.”

With both sides making a terrible start to the season it was hard to know which manager was under more pressure.

But there was little doubt about it by the time Arnautovic fired the opener past Petr Cech.

Emery has certainly had his critics since he took over and there was a sense

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