Unai Emery - Initial thoughts: Page 25 - The Arsenal discussion forum and community: One More in the Tolly

Unai Emery - Initial thoughts

goon

The unbeaten run isn't all that impressive because anyone who has watched us knows it's not through any great control or dominance like you would expect, it's fine margins. Still, you can't argue with our results though, our points per game is pretty impressive and I reckon it'll be in the title winning bracket by the half way mark.

Bring Back Kerrea Gilbert

So unlucky that all the other big clubs are relentless.

speedy

goon wrote:
The unbeaten run isn't all that impressive because anyone who has watched us knows it's not through any great control or dominance like you would expect, it's fine margins. Still, you can't argue with our results though, our points per game is pretty impressive and I reckon it'll be in the title winning bracket by the half way mark.

It's take a ton of 'mental strength' to keep that run together. The fungus crawled United to many titles with dodgy extra time wins. That were part ref bias but also a symptom of the strong mentality in their squad.

Captain

The run is padded by us playing Europa and Emery playing strong teams there. Wenger, or even most other managers, would have rolled out a full third string for the majority of those games.

jones

Don't understand the need to belittle the run. Emery's squad management is a separate topic and also we've played some kids already half of this forum has never heard of. Also Wenger rolled out our first string incl Alexis and Özil playing CL couple seasons ago when we lost to Olympiakos at home a team not much better than Sporting, staying unbeaten for a run like this isn't just about the players on the pitch, it's about professionalism and keeping your players on edge.

MistaT

I think he's handled Europa brilliantly.

Nice blend of youth and established players.

Captain

Who belittled it, it's just a fact that most teams of Arsenal's stature do not run out their first team in the league format of the Europa.

Anzac

speedy wrote:
goon wrote:
The unbeaten run isn't all that impressive because anyone who has watched us knows it's not through any great control or dominance like you would expect, it's fine margins. Still, you can't argue with our results though, our points per game is pretty impressive and I reckon it'll be in the title winning bracket by the half way mark.

It's take a ton of 'mental strength' to keep that run together. The fungus crawled United to many titles with dodgy extra time wins. That were part ref bias but also a symptom of the strong mentality in their squad.

IMO this is the 'real' value to be had from such a run = the mental self belief.
That's not to say we haven't had such runs before under AW, and the 'real' test will be how the team & players react after the run is broken, as in the past we've had a habit of inconsistency when a run of form is broken.

IMO such a run is like part of the building blocks required to being considered as a bona fide challenger, & the next step forward in the team development is to win something so that everyone then knows what it took to do so and how it felt.
Whilst most of the squad have had recent success under AW they need to learn how to do it under a new manager and system.

Anzac

MistaT wrote:
I think he's handled Europa brilliantly.

Nice blend of youth and established players.

Most important for me has been the approach to go strong and secure qualification and top spot, which then gives you wiggle room for situations like now re injuries & suspensions. It's now a great opportunity for the youngsters to either stake a claim for consideration going forward, and/or to continue their progress thus far.

IMO the importance in this is that the club has set it's structures about finding and developing youth & we are already being linked to a handful of such prospects, so the in-house options will need to step up if they want to continue to the senior squad.

Claudius

He was slightly forced to do this by the schedule. It would not have been wise to play full strength teams in rounds 5 and 6 due to round 5 being around those tough United and Spurs games and round 6 being in the middle of this tough December run of 11 games. He just had to plan accordingly and get qualification early

Sicario

jones wrote:
Don't understand the need to belittle the run. Emery's squad management is a separate topic and also we've played some kids already half of this forum has never heard of. Also Wenger rolled out our first string incl Alexis and Özil playing CL couple seasons ago when we lost to Olympiakos at home a team not much better than Sporting, staying unbeaten for a run like this isn't just about the players on the pitch, it's about professionalism and keeping your players on edge.

100 per cent agree. Haters will hate.

Burnwinter

goon wrote:
The unbeaten run isn't all that impressive because anyone who has watched us knows it's not through any great control or dominance like you would expect, it's fine margins. Still, you can't argue with our results though, our points per game is pretty impressive and I reckon it'll be in the title winning bracket by the half way mark.

It was often fine margins under Wenger as well, but some of them we lost.

I'm proud of what we've achieved getting this far. Be surprised if we keep it going through Christmas, but it's definitely significant and I'm sure it drives the players on reading "Arsenal will aim to extend their 20+ match unbeaten run going into this weekend …" in the headlines.

TambourineMan

He's done well. The fact that we're level on points with the team in 4th and just 2 pts behind the 3rd placed team is a very good sign. We have also very comfortably navigated our Europa group. I would have taken this at the start of the season.

At the end of the season, he has to be evaluated on whether we have CL football be it through the PL or Europa. Anything less than starting next season with CL has to be looked upon as a failure to meet a clear target. If he comes close to getting us there, he deserves another season. If we fall apart in the second half of the season and get humiliated in the Europa falling in the 6th in the league then I'd get rid. As it stands, it looks like we're in a strong position to push for top 4/top 3 and give the EL a real go.

I'm optimistic and really looking forward to part 2 of the Emery season. Think we'll finish 3rd and win either the FA Cup or Europa League. Gut feeling. The vibes around the club feel positive and that will hopefully have a positive impact on the pitch.

banduan

The unbeaten run is slightly shaded by the fact that Pool are unbeaten in the league. Once they drop that run, ours looks all that more significant.

We diss our own squad too much, Emery isn't handling a bunch of numpties. These are solid players, Ozil is among the best in the world no matter how much stick I can throw at him and Rambo is top class too. I think it's reasonable to ask this team to get CL qualification this year.

jones

Since we last lost a game Liverpool have lost at home to Chelsea, at Belgrade Napoli and PSG.

Claudius

Good point, Jonesy. They lost 3 champions league games and Napoli still opened the door for them. Incredible.

Anzac

Claudius wrote:
Good point, Jonesy. They lost 3 champions league games and Napoli still opened the door for them. Incredible.

Apparently we've also lost 3 Away games in the CL Group Stage but also progressed.

Anzac

banduan wrote:
The unbeaten run is slightly shaded by the fact that Pool are unbeaten in the league. Once they drop that run, ours looks all that more significant.

We diss our own squad too much, Emery isn't handling a bunch of numpties. These are solid players, Ozil is among the best in the world no matter how much stick I can throw at him and Rambo is top class too. I think it's reasonable to ask this team to get CL qualification this year.

Isn't this run across all comps one of the better such runs in any of the UEFA top5 domestic leagues?
Thought I'd seen something earlier on that gave some numbers as to when the last time our run was matched and in most cases it was a matter of seasons ago - or was that our run of wins?
Sure there are those who will say we're playing EUROPA, but by that measure we're also in the toughest/most competitive domestic league, and have only lost to the last 2 PL Champions.

Anzac

Tambourine Man wrote:
He's done well. The fact that we're level on points with the team in 4th and just 2 pts behind the 3rd placed team is a very good sign. We have also very comfortably navigated our Europa group. I would have taken this at the start of the season.

At the end of the season, he has to be evaluated on whether we have CL football be it through the PL or Europa. Anything less than starting next season with CL has to be looked upon as a failure to meet a clear target. If he comes close to getting us there, he deserves another season. If we fall apart in the second half of the season and get humiliated in the Europa falling in the 6th in the league then I'd get rid. As it stands, it looks like we're in a strong position to push for top 4/top 3 and give the EL a real go.

I'm optimistic and really looking forward to part 2 of the Emery season. Think we'll finish 3rd and win either the FA Cup or Europa League. Gut feeling. The vibes around the club feel positive and that will hopefully have a positive impact on the pitch.

Whilst I think we can regain CL this season I disagree with this part.

Firstly I'm not sure that regaining CL has ever been clearly established as being the expectation for this season, most here thought we would be at least 2 seasons off being able to compete for top4/CL.

As for falling apart there can be any number of reasons - injuries being a prime candidate. But even putting injuries aside any such collapse would surely indicate that the common denominator is the players?

Lastly the biggest caveat to any expectation must surely be the extent to which he is supported in the transfer market in order to be able to achieve those goals?

That said I am also looking forward to the rest of the season.

Anzac

Claudius wrote:
He was slightly forced to do this by the schedule. It would not have been wise to play full strength teams in rounds 5 and 6 due to round 5 being around those tough United and Spurs games and round 6 being in the middle of this tough December run of 11 games. He just had to plan accordingly and get qualification early

That in it's self is something we have not seen for some time - Emery has shown an awareness of not only who the opposition are but also the schedule more than 1 game ahead.

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