When Unai Emery was appointed on 23rd May 2018, the Arsenal faithful were excited for a new chapter following the inevitable end of Arsene Wenger's 22 year spell. With poor results from early games versus Chelsea and holders Manchester City, fans saw the positives outweigh the negatives through high energy pressing and quick counter-attacking phases of play.
It is safe to say, however, that the indisputable highlight of Emery's (potentially soon to be over) reign as Gunners boss was the nail-biting 4-2 win over fierce rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the Emirates Stadium in early December, 2018. His bold decision to make two big changes at just half time, whilst Arsenal faced a 2-1 deficit, changed the whole game. On came Aaron Ramsey, to supply Aubameyang's amazing first-time effort and his second of the tie, and Alexandre Lacazette, to grab the third goal, also assisted by the Welshman. A tactical masterclass that left the Arsenal fans optimistic about what lay ahead under Emery.
Towards the end of the season there was a real chance for Arsenal to regain qualification into the Champions League, first by finishing in the top 4, however a string of abysmal performances in winnable games saw this opportunity squandered. What remained, however, was a match-up against London rivals Chelsea in a Europa League final staged in Baku, Azerbaijan.
As an Arsenal fan, it was simply unbearable to watch - and I am unashamed to say I didn't even watch the final third of the game. A 4-1 loss in an absolutely dire effort saw us fall at the final hurdle, at a position that we solely put on ourselves, in embarrassing fashion.
Fast forward to 27th November 2019, and it is the lowest it has ever been. Following new and exciting signings, results are worse than ever before. Despite the bad results under Wenger during the end of his time, we were still playing attractive football, especially at home. Yet under Emery, it is the opposite. As things stand, we are on negative goal difference, are facing 3x the shots against than our opponents week in week out, and have failed to win a league game for over 50 days. The Arsenal fans have rightfully had enough.
So where next? The options are fairly limited for the time being, with Mikel Arteta, Max Allegri, Freddie Ljungberg and Nuno (the current Wolves coach) the names being thrown around. Though the most exciting prospect on this list, Arteta would likely not leave his current position as Pep's Assistant at City halfway through the season. For me, Max Allegri is a name the Arsenal fans will regret suggesting; his inability to close games out whilst at Juventus angered the fans, and despite his impressive trophy cabinet in Turin, he had a massively better squad, and never challenged in the Champions League. Nuno, I feel, would struggle against the bigger teams with Arsenal, and I do not see his relationship with Mesut Ozil being a positive one.
The best option to me, for now, is to appoint Freddie Ljungberg for the remainder of the season. If he does a great job, he can stay - if not, we have more of a chance then of acquiring a Mikel Arteta, Nuno, Max Allegri, or even a far more attractive name such as Ten Hag or Nagelsmann in the 2020/21 summer transfer window.
コメント