Emery never was, and never will be, the right man for Arsenal

One thing that characterised the deterioration of the final period of Arsene Wenger’s 22 year reign as Arsenal boss was his uncanny ability to pick up results, just when his team were one loss away from the brink.

A four game losing streak in February 2018 was met by home and away wins over Milan in a run of six victories on the bounce, a 6-3 defeat by Manchester City in 2013 was followed by a seven game win streak, and the same year, a depressing season opening 3-1 loss to Aston Villa led to 10 consecutive wins.

It was a gradual decline under the Frenchman, that saw Arsenal go from dominating the league alongside Manchester United, to perennial top four finishers, to top six mediocrity. With Unai Emery now almost a season-and-a-half into his tenure, a worst case top six scenario has now become par for the course.

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Emery was given the Arsenal job with a reputation of solid league finishes and cup wins, in that regard it was little surprise he’d take on where Wenger left off. But his time at Valencia, Sevilla and PSG proved he was never a coach for the elite, but one that can keep up appearances. For an uninterested and distant ownership; the perfect candidate.

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But Arsenal fans, to their credit, won’t have the wool pulled over their eyes this time, Wenger had around four years too long, with a 6-0 defeat against Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea in his 1000th game in 2014 the point of demarcation.

Emery, despite a Europa League final appearance to his name last season, has almost no goodwill in the bank compared to his predecessor, and the remaining patience left ran out when James Maddison found a way past Bernd Leno on Saturday evening.

While no one could’ve predicted it at the start of the season, its increasingly clear we have a new top four, with Chelsea and Leicester achieving the incredible feat of hanging on to Liverpool and City’s relentless pace setting, whilst creating a nine point gap to the rest of the division.

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The low standard of top six, with a top four push and cup run, is on the verge of decreasing evermore, with Europa League qualification the drab reward for an average season.

While Frank Lampard and Brendan Rodgers build young, aggressive and infinitely brave sides, complemented by smart signings, in a bid to catch the elite Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola, Arsenal miss all the marks.

A Champions League level attack was joined by a £72 million signing of Nicholas Pepe while the defence flounders, and a team that was identifiable for attacking moves even to the end of Wenger’s tenure, now has all the enthusiasm, identity and excitement of their absent ownership.

The problem at Arsenal runs far higher than Unai Emery’s office, and the stark reality is outside of a slice of luck in appointing a hidden genius of a coach, Arsenal’s lack of direction and substance from their board will prevent them from ever returning to the elite.

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Nevertheless, Emery has shown his hand, the unconvincing management of first Mesut Ozil, and now Granit Xhaka, shows a coach without the means to make a difference in a sport where talismanic managers are now the key piece of the puzzle.

Max Allegri, Patrick Viera, Jose Mourinho, Mikel Arteta. We’re guessing the upside on any of them, what we’re not doing though, is looking at known quantities like Arsenal’s board did with Emery. Anyone who followed his career in Spain and France could tell you with some certainty he was never the man to return the Gunners to the top.

"I am sure we are going to improve after the international break,” was Emery’s remark after Saturday’s 2-0, and he might yet see out the season, sooner or later though for Emery, it’s going to be good afternoon, good ebening, and goodnight.

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