Emery gets Arsenal board’s backing
LONDON — Unai Emery has been offered the backing of the Arsenal board for now, but has been warned that results must improve.
The Spaniard has come under mounting pressure following a string of poor performances and a record of just two wins from their last 10 English Premier League games.
A 2-0 loss at Leicester on Saturday saw the Gunners fall eight points behind the Premier League’s top four.
Emery’s target had been to secure a return to the Champions League for the first time in four seasons next year, either via a top four finish or by winning the Europa League.
However, the club’s head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham insist Emery remains the right man for the job.
“We are as disappointed as everyone else with both our results and performances at this stage of the season,” Sanllehi and Venkatesham told Arsenal staff at a pre-planned meeting on Monday. “We share the frustration with our fans, Unai, the players and all our staff as they are not at the level we want or expect.
“Things need to improve to meet our objectives for the season, and we firmly believe Unai is the right man for the job, together with the backroom team we have in place.”
The backing comes with supporters unrest rising due to poor performances on the pitch and the Emery’s decision to make Granit Xhaka club captain earlier this season.
Xhaka was stripped of that honour after a foul-mouthed tirade towards his own fans when being substituted at home to Crystal Palace on October 27.
“We have to make the tough decision Arsenal! It’s not getting better,” said former Arsenal striker Ian Wright after Saturday’s defeat.
“No definitive style or plan. Negative goal difference. No improvement in the defence. Not creating anything,” added Wright on Twitter.
Meanwhile, Xhaka says he has been hurt by the “extreme hostility” directed towards him from the supporters, but has promised to prove his worth. Xhaka (27) was stripped of the club captaincy after being involved in an angry confrontation with home fans during the Gunners’ 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace on October 27.
The Switzerland midfielder has not played for the club since. “It was very hurtful and frustrating,” Xhaka told Swiss newspaper Blick.
“I can’t understand a reaction like that even now, especially the vehemence of it and the extreme hostility directed against me.”
Xhaka was booed as he walked off the pitch as he was substituted against Palace, prompting him to cup his ear, take his shirt off and head straight down the tunnel to the dressing room.
“When my shirt number lit up on the fourth official’s panel and our own fans broke into gleeful jubilation, that hit me very hard and really upset me,” he added.
“Insulting and swearing at your own captain will cause upset and a bad atmosphere for the team you are actually supposed to be supporting; that makes no sense to me and weakens the team’s spirit.”—