Offical match day thread

Keep refreshing bbc sport waiting for the news we’ve sacked him.

 

Expect the board to make a decision this week.

 

Arsenal’s record of 17 points and -1 goal difference is their worst start to a top-flight season after 12 games since 1982-83......

But could be worse. We could have had spurs or United's starts.

 

You have a relatively kind set of fixtures between the end of the intl break and your game against City on Dec 15th.

Come that game I think things will be clearer. On paper, you should be good enough to pick up a minimum of 9-10 out of 12 points and secure passage to the EL round-of-32. Anything less than that and I think he's a goner.

 

Don't think the board will wait til Christmas. We're already 8 points off top 4.

 

From Emery... "In the end, a bad result but we did our gameplan, thinking right in the moment and we did that and when they scored the first goal was the moment maybe"

Not sure what most of that means...apart from the fact we did our game plan. So it was actually the plan to be utterly **** and boring? Wowsers.

 

"Arsenal have held talks with Luis Enrique as a potential replacement for Unai Emery, according to reports in Spain."


Make it sooo Don Raul.

 

If true, I don’t think Luis Enrique is the right appointment at all.

 

He would actually be my first choice. I think he would be perfect.

He had huge success at Barca alongside Raul Sahllelli, his teams play fast attacking football, he would get the best out of our front three..

 

Just read that. i don't buy it at all.

 

That surely can’t be right. He’s doing terribly at the moment and I don’t see any signs of turning it around. At least with Wenger I always felt he could take the team on a winning run that would put us back in the mix because of his offensive football philosophy. With Emery it feels like it’s a constant decline and his approach doesn’t lend itself to a prolonged good run of results.

 

I am hoping that it is just a smokescreen in the same way Ornstein reported that we weren't interested in Pepe, only a few days later to then report we were close to signing him. Baring in mind other fairly reliable reports are saying Raul has initiated contact with Luis Enrique (another manager I'm unsure about tbh, but that's a separate issue for now). I'd take it with a pinch of salt.

IF what Ornstein has reported is correct though, then we are in big, big trouble. Because at this point, Emery is not as culpable. It's Sanllehi, Edu and Vinai. They go to games. They have to watch this bollocks every week. How can they possibly think Emery deserves more time after what's being served up? Allowing this circus act to continue makes them even more responsible.

It's our worst start since 1982-83 - we finished 12th that season. Less points after 50 games than Wenger's last 50. Emery has 3 more losses than Wenger had in his final 50 games. 2 wins in 12 now. 6th in the league, 9 points behind Leicester and Chelsea in mid-November. The football is dire.

Someone on Twitter said the example of Leicester City should be embarrassing for clubs like Arsenal and Man United. Leicester won the league in 2016, had to rebuild, were a bit **** for a year or so, and now they're in far better shape than both clubs.

It's gotten to a point where we are only a 'big club' by reputation. We haven't acted/performed like a big club for ages now.

How much longer are we going to put up with this gross negligence?

 

I believe it. I had a feeling they would wait until summer to make a decision. We just don’t like to sack managers.

 

Well that’s this season gone then.

they might only sack him now if we get knocked out of the Europa League

 

For all intents and purposes, a lot of reliable sources seem to be saying Emery's received backing from the board to turn things around. Obviously we don't know what gets said behind closed doors, but it appears he's been told his job is safe.

These are some of the reasons that have been speculated:

The first reason is there is a break-clause in Emery's contract where we get rid of him after his second year if he doesn't get into the Champions League by May 2020. This means they won't have to pay the £6m pay-off. We'd get rid of him for free. Cheapest option.

The second reason is they believe, with the run of fixtures we have coming up, there is an opportunity to gather momentum and pick up points against the likes of Southampton, Brighton, West Ham, Norwich etc. They live in hope this will raise the spirits of the fans and the players, give us momentum, and so we head into the busy Xmas period full of confidence.

The third reason is they need time to find a suitable successor. The last thing they would want to do is hire a manager that would be a sideways/backward step and then we're back to square one again. It's important to get the next appointment right.

My issue though is this:

We have a 33% win percentage. Our lowest at this stage since 1994. Points wise, it's our worst start since the 1980s. We are averaging 12.5 shots per game - the lowest we've ever had in the PL era. We are conceding, on average, 15-20 shots per match. And we are letting vastly inferior opposition take the game to us because Emery plays defensive tactics when we're a side who cannot soak up pressure. There are plenty of reports saying the players don't believe in Emery's ideals. So what gives our board any confidence Emery will be able to go on a winning run? There is nothing at all that suggests he is capable of inspiring these players to turn things around.

It seems to me the only time we will take viable action is when there is nothing to play for anymore or we fall lower than 8th in the table. Which is absolutely the wrong strategy, especially when we still have a lot to play for.

 

The only reason I believe is they haven’t thought about who his replacement would be. Ridiculous if so, as they should have been more proactive rather than reactive.

I just don’t understand the point of keeping him on. I cannot see him getting champions league football. And if it is really about the £6m, then that’s a ****ing joke.

 

you can tell we are in the middle of an international break. Bored, bored, bored...

 

We just drew 2-2 at home to a team Leicester beat 9-0 away.

 

And who we beat ... playing with 10 men.... for an hour ... emery in deep ****.