Emery reportedly leaving Gunners squad underwhelmed in training

Photo by Aleksandr Osipov, CC BY-SA 2.0

The pressure is certainly rising on Arsenal boss, Unai Emery, following the Gunners’ frustrating 2-2 draw with North London neighbours, Watford. Despite the Hornets being much the better side, Arsenal moved two goals clear at Vicarage Road, but they were unable to capitalise on their fortuitous position, eventually running out of steam and conceding a late equaliser from the penalty spot. What this means for Arsenal’s start to the season is that they are already seven points off the pace of league leaders, Liverpool.

Although they have only lost one game in their opening five league games in the English Premier League (EPL), question marks are already beginning to appear regarding the effect Unai Emery is having on this Arsenal team. Some quarters of the Gunners’ faithful are beginning to wonder whether Arsene Wenger would have done any worse than Emery last season and so far this term. A recent report from The Athletic suggests that some of the Arsenal playing squad are less-than-enamoured with Emery’s approach to training sessions.

It would appear that the former Sevilla manager is ultra-thorough when it comes to video analysis with his players. The report states that it’s not uncommon for players to have to sit through two hours of video reviews, which can be something of a turn-off. Furthermore, the report claims that some players are growing tired of Emery’s repetitive training methods, with the squad tasked with the same drills that have so far failed to improve the Gunners’ pressing and fitness levels.

Could Jose Mourinho really be the answer for the Gunners?

Photo by Ronnie Macdonald, CC BY 2.0

It might seem somewhat extreme, but some football pundits are already weighing up potential replacements for Emery in the Emirates hot seat. TalkSPORT’s controversial radio show host, Adrian Durham, believes that Jose Mourinho would be the ideal replacement to build a more steely edge to Arsenal’s game. Statistics don’t seem to work in Emery’s favour in 2019/20 thus far, with the Gunners having allowed 96 shots on goal in their opening five fixtures; that’s more than any other team in Europe’s leading five leagues and 14 more than the first five games for the Derby County side that finished with 11 points back in the 2007/08 EPL campaign.

Even more worryingly, 2% of all the shots made on goal in all the EPL fixtures so far this term were made by bottom-of-the-table Watford in the first 45 minutes of that game. The fact that so many attempts are able to be made at the Arsenal goal suggests that Emery’s approach is fundamentally flawed in the Premier League.

Even younger members of the Arsenal team such as Ainsley Maitland-Niles have spoken out and questioned Emery’s tactics. The versatile Maitland-Niles suggested that the players should have abandoned Emery’s passing approach in the latter stages against Watford and become more streetwise to close the game out. Midfielder Granit Xhaka also claimed that the players were too “scared”, which is another black mark against Emery’s motivational approach.

Unfortunately for the Arsenal faithful, Spurs remain most likely to finish as the top London club in the 2019/20 EPL campaign (although Arsenal are a close second, with Chelsea also lurking in the background). There’s no guarantee that Chelsea won’t overtake Arsenal in the coming weeks, particularly with the way that Frank Lampard has started to get his youthful Blues side going in recent games. There are a few key fixtures on the horizon for Unai Emery to buy himself some time. First and foremost, a positive start to the Gunners’ Europa League campaign is important, followed by a chance to return to winning ways at home against newly-promoted Aston Villa. A Monday night trip to Manchester United awaits at the end of the month, too.

Looking at the short term, there’s plenty of reason for Arsenal fans to be concerned. That last-gasp draw at Watford was akin to Arsenal’s humiliating 3-0 loss to Crystal Palace in 2017, when it was clear for all to see that Arsene Wenger’s number was up. Unai Emery is desperately trying to tread water whilst stumbling upon a winning formula, but the jury is out as to whether he’ll ever get there.