THE past 12 months has been a year of huge change at Arsenal. Arsene Wenger has gone, and been followed by both a chief executive and a head of recruitment. The past three transfer windows have seen as many as nine different players arrive, and this season under Unai Emery has seen a considerable shift in tactical ideology.
And yet, the manner in which Arsenal’s Premier League campaign has collapsed this season feels horribly familiar. The most depressing thing about Arsenal is that they look like, well, Arsenal.
That inevitably raises questions over how much of their current predicament is down to Emery, and to what extent these issues pre-date him. As Arsenal look to assess their head coach’s first year at the helm, they must attempt to separate out his own failings from the club’s more endemic issues.
Unai Emery suggested he was unsatisfied with his squad as they dropped points at home against bottom-half teams for the second game in a row, saying: "We need new energy and new players to change the performance." #AFC #Arsenal
— AFCMike (@AFCPW) May 6, 2019
That’s not to absolve Emery: he has presided over a dire run of form that has cost Arsenal their top four place. Granted, at the start of the season many fans would have been surprised at being in a position to secure Champions League qualification in their final few games. Nevertheless, that doesn’t excuse failing to take advantage of their strong position. Arsenal and Emery have allowed a fantastic opportunity to slip through their grasp.
But then, isn’t that what Arsenal do? This is the same club, after all, who couldn’t see off Leicester City in a tussle for the title in 2015/16. Arsenal’s mental fragility is well known, and crumbling under pressure is nothing particularly new.
That’s a problem that goes way back. Under Wenger, a creche-like culture of complacency set in. Arsenal simply have too many players who can not stand the heat in the crucible. The manner in which Granit Xhaka needlessly conceded a penalty against Brighton was symptomatic of this capacity for self-destruction; likewise Shkodran Mustafi’s aberration against Crystal Palace which allowed Wilfried Zaha to score.
Arsenal are also desperately lacking leaders on the field. At the start of the season, Emery appointed five captains—this was an attempt to share responsibility but also an admission that there was no outstanding candidate. Look at Manchester City’s captain Vincent Kompany, who led by example against Leicester, storming forward and thundering a shot into the top corner to take them to the brink of the title.
When was the last time one of Arsenal’s supposed generals grabbed a game by the scruff of the neck and propelled them to the win? The man wearing the armband against Brighton was Mesut Ozil—not exactly renowned for his inspiring leadership qualities.
Vincent Kompany is everything Arsenal lack & miss. A proper captain, leader & character. Knows exactly what it takes to win both on & off the pitch. We haven’t had a captain come close to that since Adams & Vieira..
— Mr Fane (@MrFane87) May 6, 2019
The captaincy is principally a symbolic role, but the situation is illustrative of Arsenal’s collective lack of backbone. The club actively sought to assuage that by bringing in experienced winners like Stephan Lichtsteiner and Sokratis Papastathopolous. However, it seems a more extensive claret will be required to cleanse the changing room of its issues.
That brings us on to another problem: recruitment. The Arsenal squad requires extensive remodelling, but currently there is no-one in place to perform that role. What gave many Arsenal fans hope for the future after Wenger’s departure was the instillation of Sven Mislintat as the head of recruitment. His departure in February has thrown Arsenal’s transfer strategy into chaos, as evidenced by the bizarre series of links at the end of the January transfer window.
Former midfielder Edu is apparently now lined up for the role, but will not be able to take up the position until July—just one month before the closure of the transfer window. The boardroom shenanigans and power plays are another issue that pre-date Emery, and one that has already dramatically impacted upon his tenure.
When January rolled around, Arsenal badly needed reinforcements to cope with the long-term injuries to Danny Welbeck, Hector Bellerin and Rob Holding. However, Emery was told he was only permitted to loan players, leading to the puzzling and ultimately pointless addition of Denis Suarez. Suarez will leave Arsenal this summer without having started a single game.
If you think Unai Emery is the problem at Arsenal I think you might be looking in the wrong place. He's got a lot wrong in the last month but he's not the reason the club have no sporting director or head of recruitment and might have less than £50m to spend this summer.
— James Benge (@jamesbenge) May 5, 2019
Whether due to Mislintat’s impending departure or cost-cutting measures from Arsenal’s owners KSE, Emery was not backed in January. Emery has done a bad job over the last few weeks. However, for the majority of the season he has done a difficult job competently.
When Wenger departed, many fans accepted there would be an awkward transition—that it might even get worse before it got better. In some ways, Emery was appointed as a sacrificial lamb to attempt to guide Arsenal into a new era.
Of course, part of the job of the coach is to change the culture of the club. It’s no good just passing blame backwards. Look at the impact Jurgen Klopp and Mauricio Pochettino have made at Liverpool and Tottenham respectively, transforming them from perennial punchlines to credible contenders.
Emery has to do something similar at Arsenal. However, in order to do it, he’ll ideally have considerable financial support—and, crucially, time. Arsenal are not currently able to guarantee significant spending power, but they can at least offer their current coach a little longer to see if he can eradicate some of their more traumatic tendencies.
