Changing the manager is not the solution

And so it continues…

Under Arsene Wenger the infighting with Arsenal fans was draining, and many have continued their over the top defence or attacking of the manager with Unai Emery.

We have people comparing Emery to Pardew, Allardyce and Tony Pullis. “The Spanish David Moyes” is often tweeted.

I am sorry but I must have missed when these men lead teams to trophies

Meanwhile Emery has 10 winners’ medals locked up in his safe, including 3 European ones (more than Arsenal have in their history).

You can, of course, criticise. Likewise, you can praise. But it comes to a point where it is all a little over the top on both sides. Almost like people are fighting for their bit of attention.

Emery and Arsenal are struggling at the moment. But we as fans need to stick with the team.

The defeat to Sheffield United and draw against Watford are why Arsenal are battling for top 4, rather than a title chasing team.

We know it will take time to rebuild us into a title chasing team, and whilst Emery might or might not be the man to take us forward, he needs to be given a fair crack of the whip.

<> at Emirates Stadium on May 23, 2018 in London, England.

Unai Emery is a top manager.

You do not win 3 Europa League’s and be named European Coach of the Season if you are a poor manager.

Half way through last season he seemed to get lost within himself. Unsure what to do. Who to play. How to play.

The defensive issues were clear to all and he tried to resolve them. But perhaps tried too hard, swapping between systems and personnel without really allowing anyone or anything to settle.

It is like putting in a strategy in your work place to address underperformance. It does not go well straight away so you change it. And change it again. And again. The problem is not that the strategy is wrong, but not enough time has been allowed to lapse to allow the strategy to become a success.

Emery has been like this with Arsenal.

He is clearly overthinking things. Over complicating things. Constantly chopping and changing what he is trying to do. Players like confused. Unsure what to do. This is poor management.

But it is also something that is easy resolved.

He needs someone senior to put their arm round him, tell them they have faith in him, his methods and his people. To not overcomplicate things. Put out your strongest XI in their best formation and let them play. And just because they do not win their 1^st game together, do not make huge changes for the next game.

Have faith in the strategy and give it time to materialise.

Jurgen Klopp was like this at Liverpool.

Despite finishing 8^th in his 1^st season and back to back 4^th places in his next two, he kept faith in what he was trying to do. He ended up leading Liverpool to 2 Champions League Finals – winning 1 – and they currently sit 6 points clear at the top of the league.

The difference between Klopp and Emery is self-confidence. Klopp came across as knowing what he was doing, even when it was not going well and Liverpool were losing to Swansea, Hull and Bournemouth. Emery on the other hand lacks the self-belief, the confidence of Klopp.

This might be the language barrier. It might be just their personalities.

Changing the manager does not instantly change things. The perfect example of that is up at Manchester United.

In the 6 seasons since Alex Ferguson left, United have got through 4 managers – David Moyes, Luis van Gaal, Jose Mourinho and Ole Gunnar Solsjkaer. They have spent nearly £850million on new players, including a record breaking central defender in Harry Maguire and breaking the transfer record with Paul Pogba. They spend nearly £70million more annually on wages than both Manchester City and Liverpool.

Despite all the investment, the chopping and changing of managers, they have just 2 top 4 places to show for it in 6 seasons. They have finished as low as 7^th.

Under Solsjkaer they sit 14^th in the league table…

What this shows is that getting rid of Emery and employing the new fans favourite Massimiliano Allegri will not guarantee and instant change in Arsenal’s success.

In van Gaal and Mourinho; Manchester United employed 2 top managers. The pair both got the team into the top 4 and won 3 trophies between them. They were both sacked.

Allegri, Mikel Arteta, or Freddie Ljungberg would not guarantee Arsenal instant success. Especially if they are not given the time to build their team and implement their strategy.

The other side of the coin is that sticking with Emery will not necessarily lead to the success of Jurgen Klopp.

It is all about making the right decision on the manager at the right time. The 22nd of October is not the right time.

Arsenal currently sit in 5^th place in the table; just a couple of points off 3^rd. Emery is still the best man to take us to top 4 this season. Get behind him and then make a decision on moving forward in the summer.

If all you do is sit on Twitter and moan, you become no better than those attention seeking idiots who spent half a decade of their life moaning about Wenger.

Keenos

Follow @KeenosAFC

Cushions now up on the shop…https://t.co/vlaHeBWIC8 pic.twitter.com/ty60hdp1Ob

— 🎗 ///SHE WORE/// 🎗 (@SheWore) September 5, 2019

Match Report: Sheffield United 1 – 0 Arsenal

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Sheffield United (1) 1 Arsenal (0) 0
Premier League
Bramall Lane, Sheffield S2 4SU
Monday, 21st October 2019. Kick-off time: 8.00pm

(4-2-3-1) Bernd Leno; Calum Chambers, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz, Sead Kolašinac; Mattéo Guendouzi, Granit Xhaka; Nicolas Pépé, Joe Willock, Bukayo Saka; Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Substitutes:Kieran Tierney, Dani Ceballos, Alexandre Lacazette, Lucas Torreira, Rob Holding, Emiliano Martínez, Gabriel Martinelli.
Yellow Cards: Bukayo Saka, Freddie Ljungberg, Sead Kolašinac, Sokratis Papastathopoulos, Calum Chambers
Arsenal Possession Percentage: 68%
Referee: Mike Dean
Attendance: 30,775

Let’s be fair about it, the first thirty-five minutes or so of this frenetic, thunderous encounter on a cold Monday night in Yorkshire wasn’t exactly our most finest performance of the season so far. We simply allowed the home side to assume control in the most important areas of the pitch, and in doing so found ourselves playing catch-up to a quick, physical Sheffield United.

There is no substitute for paying attention, and at times our defence certainly lacked this basic football attribute. How on earth did Lys Mousset find himself completely unmarked in our six-yard box? And more importantly, the goal he scored against us was fairly basic stuff, and one that we should have dealt with far better than we did. Arsenal appeared to play a smash-and-grab game at times, and it was one of these movements that saw Nicolas Pépé desperately unlucky not to score, when all it took was a simple touch, and we would have redressed the balance; but it was not to be, sadly. We picked up two ridiculous bookings from Mike Dean, the first for young Bukayo Saka, of whom it is to be said that the referee felt he attempted to dupe him into giving a penalty, and the second, more unbelievably, Freddie Ljungberg for showing extreme dissent in the technical area, his first since 2006, apparently. On the stroke of half-time, Granit Xhaka was unfortunate not to score when a strong and accurate 20-yard shot was pushed away by Dean Henderson in the Sheffield United goal. Soon after, the referee blew the whistle, and a half best forgotten by us was abruptly terminated by the man in black, mercifully.

After the break, Dani Ceballos replaced an ineffective Joe Willock, and at last it looked as if Unai Emery wanted to start mixing things up a bit in the midfield area; but hang on, our bad habits from the first half started to look like they were going to haunt us again in the second, when we were caught ball-watching again as the home side tried to press home their one-goal advantage even more. Time and time again, The Blades were testing our defence, and two or three times in the first quarter of an hour after the restart things looked more than just a little bit iffy at the back. Bernd Leno made a dog’s breakfast out of a simple shot from John Fleck, and a minute or two later, Alexandre Lacazette replaced Granit Xhaka for our second substitution of the evening, thus spreading our attacking options wide at last. Nicolas Pépé almost scored with a blistering free-kick after Alexandre Lacazette was brought down just outside the box and it looked like we were finally waking up with eighteen minutes of the match left at Bramall Lane.

Nicolas Pépé made way for Gabriel Martinelli after 77 minutes, and suddenly it was looking like our options for scoring were increased by the introduction of fresh legs; despite superior possession statistics, we still could not convert this into goals scored. Shortly afterwards, Sokratis Papastathopoulos became our fifth yellow card of the evening, and to be fair, we kept on attempting to equalise the scores strongly and firmly right up until the final whistle, but it was not to be, and our unbeaten run came to a shuddering halt on an unforgiving night in Yorkshire.

Utter despair. Despite some great football by us, we were found wanting again in the most vital areas of the pitch at the wrong times. Arsenal lacked the killer punch, the man who could turn the key in the lock of the door to open up the Sheffield United defence, and above all this, very little game management, and at this level of football in this day and age, that alone proves to be a fatal flaw in a team that has so much fire and skill, class and movement. How do we square this circle? Remember everyone, keep the faith, get behind the team and the manager, as this season is going to be crucial for our future success in all competitions. Stick with the winners. Our next match: Vitoria SC at The Emirates on Thursday 24th October at 8.00pm (Europa League). Be there, if you can. Victoria Concordia Crescit.

Steve

Too Dearly Loved To Be Forgotten: Arsenal v Racing Club de Paris 1930-1962 by Steve Ingless (Rangemore Publications, ISBN 978-1-5272-0135-4) is now available on Amazon.