Emery struggles to stay afloat
CONFUSED TACTICS AND LACK OF IDEAS AS ARSENAL BOSS BATTLES TO SAVE JOB
FOR all the armbands being passed around at Arsenal, there is precious little to keep Unai Emery afloat. He is struggling out there, short of ideas that might save his job and increasingly surrounded by folk willing him to go under.
The question is whether that sentiment has extended from the punters of a notoriously fickle stadium to the powerbrokers of the club. Even if you discount the disputed suggestions that Jose Mourinho had dinner recently with Raul Sanllehi, Arsenal’s head of football, one can reasonably assume the concern has spread.
All of a sudden the summer break clause in Emery’s contract seems a long way off. Whereas it was once a debate of whether he would trigger a third year, it now feels more likely he won’t see out his second.
Certainly, games like this against Wolves work against the Spaniard. And so too his words in the aftermath of this 1-1 draw, in which he used a fifth captain in 16 games in Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and for the umpteenth time oversaw a performance devoid of any plan, let alone a good one.
The surprise, then, was to hear elements of his appraisal for a draw that was greeted by more booing at the final whistle.
‘It was an equal match and maybe we deserved it a little more than them,’ was one head-scratcher.
Another: ‘The result is a bad result, but tactically we worked how we wanted.’
One more, on the question of whether the players understand his instructions: ‘I think they understand.’
At this stage it is necessary to go over the particulars, aside from the facts of Aubameyang putting Arsenal ahead, only for Raul Jimenez to level late on — the third time in a week that Arsenal have seen a win become something less.
The greater detail is that a match which Emery felt Arsenal deserved to win was dictated by Wolves: they had 25 shots to Arsenal’s ten.
Wolves are improving, of course. At each step of their six-game unbeaten run, they have closer resembled the side who broke through so well last season, but a mid-table team should not be able to inflict their will in that manner on a side pushing for the top four, especially away from home.
Weirder still is that Arsenal spent much of the game looking to play on the counter, the product of which is that they barely left their half in the first 15 minutes and, barring one spell between 55 and 70 minutes, failed to deliver any kind of sustained dominance.
To take that approach with the attacking players Emery had available is a little confusing; to suggest it worked was just brazen. But this club is often the Premier League’s most interesting riddle. The quirks on Saturday extended to the basics of positioning, such as the case of Lucas Torreira, a defensive midfielder who was often found at the attacking tip of the diamond. Also, when the team’s first-half goal came, it was in no small part down to the vision of a centre-half, David Luiz, albeit from a spot on the right wing.
When results are going well, you see those acts of relocation as a sign of understanding between cogs in the machine; when results and performances are not so good, it looks like there are structural issues and a broken plan. Emery has a bit to address, which was alluded to in a post-match Tweet by Mesut Ozil, who wrote: ‘Good to be back in Premier League action, but not happy about the result at home. Many things to work on. We have to keep moving forward with our heads high.’ Ozil’s involvement in a league game for only the second time this season was an encouraging sign. Accordingly and understandably, this was a slightly rusty performance, but it was notable that he worked hard, defensive duties included. His inclusion appeased the fans, much as it would have pleased some that Granit Xhaka was left out after the Crystal Palace saga. But this club needs more than single changes. It needs a defence who don’t routinely lose concentration, as they did again for Jimenez’s equaliser. It needs a structure to the team. It needs a playing identity that is clear beyond a microscopic level. It needs tactics that work. Emery needs to find a few solutions.