There is no case for keeping Unai Emery anymore

[NLDISRED]

Sack Emery bring in allegri

If I am being completely honest I don't like what I see of Emery he is an average coach. We need to be ruthless and cut our losses and move on from him.

If Allegri was not available I would have been happy for Emery to hang around for abit longer. But as I said we need to be ruthless I am having flashbacks to when I Klopp was available but we stuck by Wenger how different things could have been.

I'm not saying Emery is a bad manager just not up to the standard we need

Okay guys let me know if you agree with me or I'm crazy. Just be polite lol I don't post much but I see how you guys can get at times

 

[BrunelGooner]

Let's address this in two ways.

1) Allegri - he is the type of manager who refines an already established team with lots of quality. He improves teams that already have the minerals, but may need a few finishing touches. He is not the type of manager to undertake a project and build a squad from scratch like Klopp has done at Liverpool or what Pochettino has done at Spurs. We are so far off from having a good quality team, that his appointment would not benefit us right now. Besides, if these rumours of us having a £50m transfer budget (before player sales) are true, then why would that attract a highly-sought after manager to come to Arsenal, when he has the pick of top clubs across Europe, who can all offer more than that? This isn't going to happen nor should it happen.

2) Emery - I apologise in advance for those who have seen me repeat this several times, but as this user doesn't post very often, it's important to make this clear.

Emery inherited a squad that was on the wane for a long while. We already had two seasons out of the Champions League and he had to turn our fortunes around with a squad that has notably had issues with injuries, lacking depth in vital positions, overpaid players, an ageing squad and a lot of personnel who were simply not up to it. People forget this was also the first time in 22 years where we completely changed the way we operated, as the club had a thorough re-structure. People's roles and responsibilities within the club were reoriented. So this was a completely new direction for us after two decades.
We subsequently had to compete with an entire country ploughing money into Man City, the most expensive squad in the league in Man United, a Chelsea team who have proven winners and (in my opinion) the best player in the league in Hazard, a Liverpool team who had the opportunity to invest in real quality in Klopp's 4th year with them, and a Spurs team who were settled, with Pochettino managing them for his 4th season too.

What were people expecting?

This first season was about Emery understanding the players he's got, work on improving our current squad and laying down an identity on this team. There may be mixed opinions on his progress in these regards, but the facts are we finished 2 points off 3rd and got to a European Cup final in his first season in charge. You may say that we were lucky because other teams didn't take advantage of our slip ups, but we could easily say the same for Chelsea & Spurs.
The bottom line is we were not far away from getting back into the Champions League.

Emery is not blameless - I have criticised him for not using some of our youth players more when the likes of Ozil and Mkhitaryan were not performing; for his awful squad management in the last 5 weeks of the season; his constant tinkering with the team (though I do have some sympathy here as we had injuries in important positions and he had a squad with no wingers) and, towards the business end of the season, his bizarre substitutions, which made no impact whatsoever.

Nevertheless, I have seen enough from him to think he can do a good job for us provided he is given the right players.

If we barely spend anything this Summer, and other clubs are smashing us in the transfer market by comparison, I do feel it is unreasonable to expect top 4 when our starting point is one from disadvantage.
However, if these are the parameters he agreed to work under, and vowed to deliver Champions League football under these stringent conditions knowingly, then he will be expected to deliver next season.

His contract runs out in 2020 anyway, so it is effectively last chance saloon for Emery.

I don't know if he is the man for us in the long-run, but he definitely deserves a second season.

 

[Citizen Kane.]

Let's address this in two ways.

1) Allegri - he is the type of manager who refines an already established team with lots of quality. He improves teams that already have the minerals, but may need a few finishing touches. He is not the type of manager to undertake a project and build a squad from scratch like Klopp has done at Liverpool or what Pochettino has done at Spurs. We are so far off from having a good quality team, that his appointment would not benefit us right now. Besides, if these rumours of us having a £50m transfer budget (before player sales) are true, then why would that attract a highly-sought after manager to come to Arsenal, when he has the pick of top clubs across Europe, who can all offer more than that? This isn't going to happen nor should it happen.

2) Emery - I apologise in advance for those who have seen me repeat this several times, but as this user doesn't post very often, it's important to make this clear.

Emery inherited a squad that was on the wane for a long while. We already had two seasons out of the Champions League and he had to turn our fortunes around with a squad that has notably had issues with injuries, lacking depth in vital positions, overpaid players, an ageing squad and a lot of personnel who were simply not up to it. People forget this was also the first time in 22 years where we completely changed the way we operated, as the club had a thorough re-structure. People's roles and responsibilities within the club were reoriented. So this was a completely new direction for us after two decades.
We subsequently had to compete with an entire country ploughing money into Man City, the most expensive squad in the league in Man United, a Chelsea team who have proven winners and (in my opinion) the best player in the league in Hazard, a Liverpool team who had the opportunity to invest in real quality in Klopp's 4th year with them, and a Spurs team who were settled, with Pochettino managing them for his 4th season too.

What were people expecting?

This first season was about Emery understanding the players he's got, work on improving our current squad and laying down an identity on this team. There may be mixed opinions on his progress in these regards, but the facts are we finished 2 points off 3rd and got to a European Cup final in his first season in charge. You may say that we were lucky because other teams didn't take advantage of our slip ups, but we could easily say the same for Chelsea & Spurs.
The bottom line is we were not far away from getting back into the Champions League.

Emery is not blameless - I have criticised him for not using some of our youth players more when the likes of Ozil and Mkhitaryan were not performing; for his awful squad management in the last 5 weeks of the season; his constant tinkering with the team (though I do have some sympathy here as we had injuries in important positions and he had a squad with no wingers) and, towards the business end of the season, his bizarre substitutions, which made no impact whatsoever.

Nevertheless, I have seen enough from him to think he can do a good job for us provided he is given the right players.

If we barely spend anything this Summer, and other clubs are smashing us in the transfer market by comparison, I do feel it is unreasonable to expect top 4 when our starting point is one from disadvantage.
However, if these are the parameters he agreed to work under, and vowed to deliver Champions League football under these stringent conditions knowingly, then he will be expected to deliver next season.

His contract runs out in 2020 anyway, so it is effectively last chance saloon for Emery.

I don't know if he is the man for us in the long-run, but he definitely deserves a second season.

Really well put BG. Although I will have to pick you up on the point that Poch has managed us for 5 seasons now.

I watched your last 4 pl matches as well as the el final. What would concern me is how badly you faded towards the end of the season. It also appeared that - 50 games in - Emery still hadn't settled on his best formation or line up. That is a massive concern that has nothing to do with the quality of player available to him. Even Neil Warnock knew Cardiff's best team and set up and their players were largely ****. This is more to do with the manager implementing a clear and consistent system, and the players buying into it. That is something that should visibly increase as the season goes on, not decrease.

Funnily enough you only need to look at Chelsea as proof of this. For all the stick he got throughout the season, Sarri somehow galvanised his team to rally at the end of the season. They had by far the best record of any of the 4 crap teams very generously offering eachother a CL spot and then of course they won another major trophy with a very convincing performance. If Arsenal had done that, you'd have nothing to worry about. But that end of season collapse suggests that either Emery still doesn't know his best system, or he does but the players still don't buy into it. Either way that's a major problem that won't be solved by simply waving a magic wand in the transfer window.

 

[BrunelGooner]

Really well put BG. Although I will have to pick you up on the point that Poch has managed us for 5 seasons now.

I watched your last 4 pl matches as well as the el final. What would concern me is how badly you faded towards the end of the season. It also appeared that - 50 games in - Emery still hadn't settled on his best formation or line up. That is a massive concern that has nothing to do with the quality of player available to him. Even Neil Warnock knew Cardiff's best team and set up and their players were largely ****. This is more to do with the manager implementing a clear and consistent system, and the players buying into it. That is something that should visibly increase as the season goes on, not decrease.

Funnily enough you only need to look at Chelsea as proof of this. For all the stick he got throughout the season, Sarri somehow galvanised his team to rally at the end of the season. They had by far the best record of any of the 4 crap teams very generously offering eachother a CL spot and then of course they won another major trophy with a very convincing performance. If Arsenal had done that, you'd have nothing to worry about. But that end of season collapse suggests that either Emery still doesn't know his best system, or he does but the players still don't buy into it. Either way that's a major problem that won't be solved by simply waving a magic wand in the transfer window.

Oh absolutely CK, and the reasons you mention are why I was so critical of him. He kept tinkering with the side, formations and tactics, which (in my opinion) confuses players. Sometimes you need to weather the storm and see how things go, rather than changing it as soon as something doesn't necessarily look right. Equally though, if things aren't going right for a while, and it is clear things aren't improving at all, then you need to adapt to those circumstances. But you need to do so in a timeframe where it's not too late to change the game but not too early in terms of killing a player's confidence. It is a delicate balance, but it is one that Emery hasn't got right.

We went from Wenger, who never changed anything at all, to Emery, who is too flexible and hasn't settled on a formation he wants. It's gone from one extreme to the other!

There were (unconfirmed) reports a while back saying that certain players didn't like Emery's pressing style and wanted to go back to the way we played before under Wenger. If this is true, then it would explain why we were lacking fluidity and cohesion in our game as the season progressed. Because at the start of the season, you could see what he was trying to do, even if the players weren't necessarily suitable for that style. But as time went on, it seemed like desperation kicked in and, as he saw two huge opportunities to get back into the Champions League, he tried a combination of multiple different things, which went against everything he tried to do earlier in the season. That, combined with the players airing their frustrations at the new style he was trying to implement, was a recipe for disaster. And in the end, it backfired.

The transfer market won't solve all our problems, but it will certainly help if we get rid of those who still have Wenger's feeble characteristics and bring in players who want to win at all costs. Right now, we still don't have that.

And I agree this lies a lot deeper than the manager, this is about the culture engrained into the club which stems from the top. If there is no pressure or desire to succeed from the owner, then that filters down to the board; to the management; to the coaches; to the playing staff.

However, even though this is an issue from top-down, Kroenke isn't going anywhere, so it will have to be resolved from bottom-up because we cannot rely on the board or the owner to instil a winning philosophy at the club. We are essentially looking for a manager to turn our fortunes around in the way Poch has done with you lot. Not an easy task, but it needs to be done either way.

 

[PINKIE]

Oh absolutely CK, and the reasons you mention are why I was so critical of him. He kept tinkering with the side, formations and tactics, which (in my opinion) confuses players. Sometimes you need to weather the storm and see how things go, rather than changing it as soon as something doesn't necessarily look right. Equally though, if things aren't going right for a while, and it is clear things aren't improving at all, then you need to adapt to those circumstances. But you need to do so in a timeframe where it's not too late to change the game but not too early in terms of killing a player's confidence. It is a delicate balance, but it is one that Emery hasn't got right.

We went from Wenger, who never changed anything at all, to Emery, who is too flexible and hasn't settled on a formation he wants. It's gone from one extreme to the other!

There were (unconfirmed) reports a while back saying that certain players didn't like Emery's pressing style and wanted to go back to the way we played before under Wenger. If this is true, then it would explain why we were lacking fluidity and cohesion in our game as the season progressed. Because at the start of the season, you could see what he was trying to do, even if the players weren't necessarily suitable for that style. But as time went on, it seemed like desperation kicked in and, as he saw two huge opportunities to get back into the Champions League, he tried a combination of multiple different things, which went against everything he tried to do earlier in the season. That, combined with the players airing their frustrations at the new style he was trying to implement, was a recipe for disaster. And in the end, it backfired.

The transfer market won't solve all our problems, but it will certainly help if we get rid of those who still have Wenger's feeble characteristics and bring in players who want to win at all costs. Right now, we still don't have that.

And I agree this lies a lot deeper than the manager, this is about the culture engrained into the club which stems from the top. If there is no pressure or desire to succeed from the owner, then that filters down to the board; to the management; to the coaches; to the playing staff.

However, even though this is an issue from top-down, Kroenke isn't going anywhere, so it will have to be resolved from bottom-up because we cannot rely on the board or the owner to instil a winning philosophy at the club. We are essentially looking for a manager to turn our fortunes around in the way Poch has done with you lot. Not an easy task, but it needs to be done either way.

Firstly I agree about the Allegri situation. If he was available when Wenger left I would have taken him in a heartbeat, but now that Emery is in place, I think he's the right man for the project at Arsenal at the moment.

Secondly, regarding Emery changing formation and personnel. I think that's only natural and to be expected in his first season, as he gets to know his players and what formation suits them best. He's also had to contend with injuries (and trying to accommodate Ozil, which I'll come to later) and so I've not been surprised to see a bit of lack of cohesion in the line up as it has changed so often.

Thirdly, although we fell apart at the end of the season, Emery was VERY close to both getting us to qualify for the Champions League and winning us a European trophy. Other than the final where we capitulated, the league was really close indeed and for all the plaudits Spurs received we would have finished above them in 4th but for a missed Pen against them.

So for Emery to improve on this, a lot comes down to which players he can bring in and which players he can shift out. We have far too many players in this squad who lack the fight/mentality/know how for managing games. Sometimes you don't necessarily need skill and great technical ability, but you need a good balance in the squad with players who know how to dig you out of a hole, who know when to attack and when to defend and who know how to do the simple things effectively. Far too many times we saw individual mistakes cost us, suicidal defending when simple play would have prevented danger etc

And then we come to players who just don't have the fight to be at this club. Namely Ozil and I would include Mkhitaryan in that too. These are players who drift in and out of games when they should be acting as the fulcrum to build our attacks around. They are passengers who effectively mean that we are playing with 10 men. Yes, they have flashes of brilliance but it's far too fleeting. They are the types of players that do well with great quality around them to do the hard work, but they are not the type of players to grab a game by the scruff of its neck when the team need a lift. And for that reason, as well as their huge wages, they both need to go.

As for who comes in, I'm not too worried about the £40m budget. I think it will be a bit higher due to player sales and by the way that transfer payments are structured, so reasonably I think we can expect a figure of £60-£70m. That would buy us a good CB and a good box to box midfielder. Other than that, I don't actually think we need to bring in too many, I would instead promote players like Willock, Saka, Smith-Rowe and bring back Riess Nelson. I'd also be looking at trying to get players like Godin and Rabiot in on a free.

 

[PleaseNotPoll]

Other than the final where we capitulated, the league was really close indeed and for all the plaudits Spurs received we would have finished above them in 4th but for a missed Pen against them.

What plaudits? We were **** for months and couldn't win a non-Champions League game.

 

[BrunelGooner]

Secondly, regarding Emery changing formation and personnel. I think that's only natural and to be expected in his first season, as he gets to know his players and what formation suits them best. He's also had to contend with injuries (and trying to accommodate Ozil, which I'll come to later) and so I've not been surprised to see a bit of lack of cohesion in the line up as it has changed so often.

To begin with, I would agree. But I think there comes a point, especially at the business end of the season, where you need to have a settled side. Constant tinkering leads to no continuity and no understanding between players. What he did against Palace at home was an absolute disgrace. Likewise with Leicester away. As I said, I am giving him some leeway because he had injuries in key positions and we had no wingers practically all season. However, this is where I feel he needed to utilise the likes of Willock, Nketiah and Saka more, because they have no pressure on their shoulders and are very quick, skilful players who can stretch defences with their speed. Their youthful energy would have been an asset to us. Could any of them really have done any worse than Mkhi, Ozil or Iwobi?

Thirdly, although we fell apart at the end of the season, Emery was VERY close to both getting us to qualify for the Champions League and winning us a European trophy. Other than the final where we capitulated, the league was really close indeed and for all the plaudits Spurs received we would have finished above them in 4th but for a missed Pen against them.

It depends which way you want to look at it. He did well to get us to a position where we were in pole position for Champions League football, given many didn't expect us to get in there anyway. On the flip side, we should have seized the day when we were there. It was also his lack of man-management, poor tactics and strange substitutions which caused us to go on that awful run from Everton away onwards. We had a real good shot to get 3rd in the league and we totally blew it. He deserves blame for that, as do the players.

 

[PINKIE]

To begin with, I would agree. But I think there comes a point, especially at the business end of the season, where you need to have a settled side. Constant tinkering leads to no continuity and no understanding between players. What he did against Palace at home was an absolute disgrace. Likewise with Leicester away. As I said, I am giving him some leeway because he had injuries in key positions and we had no wingers practically all season. However, this is where I feel he needed to utilise the likes of Willock, Nketiah and Saka more, because they have no pressure on their shoulders and are very quick, skilful players who can stretch defences with their speed. Their youthful energy would have been an asset to us. Could any of them really have done any worse than Mkhi, Ozil or Iwobi?



It depends which way you want to look at it. He did well to get us to a position where we were in pole position for Champions League football, given many didn't expect us to get in there anyway. On the flip side, we should have seized the day when we were there. It was also his lack of man-management, poor tactics and strange substitutions which caused us to go on that awful run from Everton away onwards. We had a real good shot to get 3rd in the league and we totally blew it. He deserves blame for that, as do the players.

I think the tinkering was in part down to trying to accomodate Mkhititaryan and Ozil and not really knowing what defensive set up is best. He made tactical mistakes at the end of the season, but I think there were mitigating circumstances surrounding that. Hopefully he can get the players in that he wants this summer and create a stable defence that all know their positions and jobs.

I'm not going to lay into Iwobi though, I still think he's got a future at Arsenal. He's still only 22 and has shown enough promise to be given another season at least. When he's on the pitch he always creates dangerous situations, but his final ball lets him down. If he can improve on that then he could become a really potent player. The goal he scored in the EL final was brilliant. I'd like to see him shoot more, rather than trying to find the killer pass in the box.

 

[BrunelGooner]

I think the tinkering was in part down to trying to accomodate Mkhititaryan and Ozil and not really knowing what defensive set up is best. He made tactical mistakes at the end of the season, but I think there were mitigating circumstances surrounding that. Hopefully he can get the players in that he wants this summer and create a stable defence that all know their positions and jobs.

I'm not going to lay into Iwobi though, I still think he's got a future at Arsenal. He's still only 22 and has shown enough promise to be given another season at least. When he's on the pitch he always creates dangerous situations, but his final ball lets him down. If he can improve on that then he could become a really potent player. The goal he scored in the EL final was brilliant. I'd like to see him shoot more, rather than trying to find the killer pass in the box.

Thing is, it's hard to criticise him too much for our defensive shortcomings because, statistically, we conceded the same amount of goals in the league as we did in Wenger's last season. But look at what we had.

A 33-year old, injury-plagued Koscielny.
A 33-year old left-back whose lost his pace in Monreal.
A 30-year old Sokratis who was new to the league.
A 35-year old right back who wasn't meant to play as much as he did in Lichtsteiner.
A Mustafi who should be in the prime years of his career, but was just as big a liability as he always has been.
23-year old Holding was in tremendous form, then gets a season-ending injury, which was a huge blow.
23-year old Bellerin, who was starting to come into form, then gets a season-ending injury too.
A 25-year old left-wing back in Kolasinac, who is decent going forwards, but not reliable at defending. He showed this last season too.
A 21-year old Maitland-Niles, who is a central midfielder by trade, but was forced to play as a right-back due to lack of options.

Even Simeone or Allegri wouldn't be able to tighten a defence with those problems/concerns.

However, I feel like our midfield at times didn't always give them enough protection. Xhaka is unreliable and is slow at making a decision or covering ground, but he distributes the ball well, and we had so few other options. Torreira looked burnt out after Christmas due to how often we played him. And Guendouzi, though looks like he can be a fine player, was too indisciplined in some games and wanted too long on the ball.

My only question is could Emery and the coaching team have done more to make us defensively sound with that personnel? I really am not sure.

RE: Iwobi - I would keep him at the club, but he needs to start stepping up pronto. He is 23 in May and the 2019-2020 campaign will be his 5th year with the first-team. His output for a wide player is really poor compared to those who play in the same positions at other clubs. He made 51 appearances for us last season too, so it's not like he didn't have the chances to show what he's all about.

If we don't see substantial improvement to his game in the final third next season, I don't think he will ever hold down a regular starting spot for us.

 

[PINKIE]

Thing is, it's hard to criticise him too much for our defensive shortcomings because, statistically, we conceded the same amount of goals in the league as we did in Wenger's last season. But look at what we had.

A 33-year old, injury-plagued Koscielny.
A 33-year old left-back whose lost his pace in Monreal.
A 30-year old Sokratis who was new to the league.
A 35-year old right back who wasn't meant to play as much as he did in Lichtsteiner.
A Mustafi who should be in the prime years of his career, but was just as big a liability as he always has been.
23-year old Holding was in tremendous form, then gets a season-ending injury, which was a huge blow.
23-year old Bellerin, who was starting to come into form, then gets a season-ending injury too.
A 25-year old left-wing back in Kolasinac, who is decent going forwards, but not reliable at defending. He showed this last season too.
A 21-year old Maitland-Niles, who is a central midfielder by trade, but was forced to play as a right-back due to lack of options.

Even Simeone or Allegri wouldn't be able to tighten a defence with those problems/concerns.

However, I feel like our midfield at times didn't always give them enough protection. Xhaka is unreliable and is slow at making a decision or covering ground, but he distributes the ball well, and we had so few other options. Torreira looked burnt out after Christmas due to how often we played him. And Guendouzi, though looks like he can be a fine player, was too indisciplined in some games and wanted too long on the ball.

My only question is could Emery and the coaching team have done more to make us defensively sound with that personnel? I really am not sure.

RE: Iwobi - I would keep him at the club, but he needs to start stepping up pronto. He is 23 in May and the 2019-2020 campaign will be his 5th year with the first-team. His output for a wide player is really poor compared to those who play in the same positions at other clubs. He made 51 appearances for us last season too, so it's not like he didn't have the chances to show what he's all about.

If we don't see substantial improvement to his game in the final third next season, I don't think he will ever hold down a regular starting spot for us.

Agree with all of that. It's a make or break season for Iwobi this time. Hopefully we add a CB and a MF so that the over reliance on the players you mention can be allievated. I'd also play Maprovanos more often too. I think he's going to be a decent CB, but he needs game time and hopefully alongside a decent defence, not a patched up makeshift defence which we had.

It will be interesting to see how Emery uses AMN next season, because as you say his best position is in MF. He did okay at RB, but he looks like he's got the making of being a really calm and composed midfielder.

 

[Dier Hard]

As for who comes in, I'm not too worried about the £40m budget. I think it will be a bit higher due to player sales and by the way that transfer payments are structured, so reasonably I think we can expect a figure of £60-£70m. That would buy us a good CB and a good box to box midfielder.

I think that's very wishful thinking mate unless you're relying on good scouting.

Top level CMs are gonna be costing £60m+ in today's market. We're linked with two ourselves - Ndombele and Lo Celso - and have supposedly been quoted anywhere between £60m-£75m for Ndombele while Betis are supposedly holding out for the £80m release clause for Lo Celso. Today we also got linked with Bruno Fernandes who again is looking likely to cost around £65m. Realistically only way you're getting both a good CB and CM with a £70m budget is if you find a gem that no one's really after.

 

[PINKIE]

I think that's very wishful thinking mate unless you're relying on good scouting.

Top level CMs are gonna be costing £60m+ in today's market. We're linked with two ourselves - Ndombele and Lo Celso - and have supposedly been quoted anywhere between £60m-£75m for Ndombele while Betis are supposedly holding out for the £80m release clause for Lo Celso. Today we also got linked with Bruno Fernandes who again is looking likely to cost around £65m. Realistically only way you're getting both a good CB and CM with a £70m budget is if you find a gem that no one's really after.

At the moment mate, we're not in a position either financially or from a footballing perspective to be getting in the very best talent. So I don't think we'd be looking at a £70-£80m player for that position. We need to make a solid signing without being able to pick from the very best in the market. I'd like to see us try and get Rabiot, who'd come on a free, but I think he's back in contract talks with PSG.

Other than that, Emery is a long term admirer of Banega. He's getting on a bit, but we don't need to make this a long term signing. We just need somebody to replace Ramsey and try to help us get back in the top 4. If we do, then we can think about signing the best talent again, but for now, it's very much a pragmatic approach that the club need to take in the market.

 

[omogooner]

It really frustrates me when fans think the cheque book is the solution. When are they going to get it? We are not Mancity, whether it is 40mill or 100mill, the best chance of success lies in the coaching and player development. What is success? With the amount of resources at the disposal of Mancity, a top4 finish is a successful season. On the issue of Emery, I have said it so many times, he is a very average manager. There will be no extras from him, no magic from him, he will not take a team that on paper should finish in the bottom 3 and make them finish mid-table! Very easy to carry on blaming Kroenke, cheque book will not guarantee success!

 

[PINKIE]

It really frustrates me when fans think the cheque book is the solution. When are they going to get it? We are not Mancity, whether it is 40mill or 100mill, the best chance of success lies in the coaching and player development. What is success? With the amount of resources at the disposal of Mancity, a top4 finish is a successful season. On the issue of Emery, I have said it so many times, he is a very average manager. There will be no extras from him, no magic from him, he will not take a team that on paper should finish in the bottom 3 and make them finish mid-table! Very easy to carry on blaming Kroenke, cheque book will not guarantee success!

I don’t think anybody is saying that fella. What’s being said is that we need a couple of players in some key positions CB and MF and that we should promote our youth players.

I don’t share your view about Emery. I think he’s a good coach who will get the best out of the players, as long as they work to his philosophy. Nobody is expecting him to perform miracles, but we were 1 point off top 4 this season and arguably should have got at least that.

 

[Dier Hard]

It really frustrates me when fans think the cheque book is the solution. When are they going to get it? We are not Mancity, whether it is 40mill or 100mill, the best chance of success lies in the coaching and player development. What is success? With the amount of resources at the disposal of Mancity, a top4 finish is a successful season. On the issue of Emery, I have said it so many times, he is a very average manager. There will be no extras from him, no magic from him, he will not take a team that on paper should finish in the bottom 3 and make them finish mid-table! Very easy to carry on blaming Kroenke, cheque book will not guarantee success!

You need a mix of both though, a good coach/ manager and a bit of money.

Klopp and Pep for instance, two managers regarded as great coaches - and they are - have needed considerable funds to achieve their success. Even our gaffer, we may not have won a trophy but no one can deny how brilliant Poch has done in turning Spurs into a solidified top four side and a recent CL finalist, yet for all his coaching and elevating of players, he still needed signings like Alderweireld, Sanchez, Son, Lucas etc to help get us to where we are and if we're to go one step further then Spurs need to uncharacteristically spend pretty big this summer.

Money may not guarantee success but it absolutely increases the chances of it.

From a yid's perspective I'd love it if you sacked Emery because I think he's a great manager and realistically there isn't really a better one right now who'd be willing to join you.

 

[gooner4ever]

You need a mix of both though, a good coach/ manager and a bit of money.

Klopp and Pep for instance, two managers regarded as great coaches - and they are - have needed considerable funds to achieve their success. Even our gaffer, we may not have won a trophy but no one can deny how brilliant Poch has done in turning Spurs into a solidified top four side and a recent CL finalist, yet for all his coaching and elevating of players, he still needed signings like Alderweireld, Sanchez, Son, Lucas etc to help get us to where we are and if we're to go one step further then Spurs need to uncharacteristically spend pretty big this summer.

Money may not guarantee success but it absolutely increases the chances of it.

From a yid's perspective I'd love it if you sacked Emery because I think he's a great manager and realistically there isn't really a better one right now who'd be willing to join you.

We won’t sack Emery as he was appointed to do a job - get CL qualification with no new spending, and as soon as possible.
If Aubameyang had scored the penalty against Spurs then Emery would have achieved this.

Lets see how he shapes the squad this summer and in particular will he get the money to buy the players we need.
If Spurs don’t spend money this window then they may find themselves caught out for CL places as you look to lose a couple of players and it’s wether Levy reinvests or pays down the stadium.
No doubt United will spend big but will it be wisely - they made a huge mistake in making OGS manager when they did as they should of waited till end of season, as they probably wouldn’t of appointed him.
I am still unsure if Poch will stay at Spurs but if he does this will be his last season, and he will leave still trophy less unless you can win one of the Cups

 

[Dier Hard]

We won’t sack Emery as he was appointed to do a job - get CL qualification with no new spending, and as soon as possible.
If Aubameyang had scored the penalty against Spurs then Emery would have achieved this.

Lets see how he shapes the squad this summer and in particular will he get the money to buy the players we need.
If Spurs don’t spend money this window then they may find themselves caught out for CL places as you look to lose a couple of players and it’s wether Levy reinvests or pays down the stadium.
No doubt United will spend big but will it be wisely - they made a huge mistake in making OGS manager when they did as they should of waited till end of season, as they probably wouldn’t of appointed him.
I am still unsure if Poch will stay at Spurs but if he does this will be his last season, and he will leave still trophy less unless you can win one of the Cups

Too many ifs to judge on. Auba scoring the pen could've changed things for you at the end of the season but equally if Lloris didn't **** up at Anfield then we would've finished above Chelsea. I don't really dwell on "what ifs" though tbh.

Summer should be interesting. Doesn't sound like your finances are too great so Emery will have to buy smart especially as it's unlikely there'll be a queue of buyers for the likes of Ozil or Mkhitaryan to help build up the funds. Feel like you're in a similar situation as we were back when Poch first joined, in that there's a number of over-paid under-performers and therefore it might be worth trying to blood through some youth to get the hunger to play for the badge back and then build from there.
As for us, this is possibly our biggest and most crucial summer under Poch. Personally I think we'll turn some heads with some big signings (hopefully Ndombele and Lo Celso as we need quality in CM) and then stick to our bread and butter of signing promising young players - Jack Clarke looks like he could be nearly done whilst Sessegnon and Aarons have also been strongly linked. If we sort the CM and also RB then I'd fancy us to have a pretty good season.

 

[BobbyD]

Too many ifs to judge on. Auba scoring the pen could've changed things for you at the end of the season but equally if Lloris didn't **** up at Anfield then we would've finished above Chelsea. I don't really dwell on "what ifs" though tbh.

Summer should be interesting. Doesn't sound like your finances are too great so Emery will have to buy smart especially as it's unlikely there'll be a queue of buyers for the likes of Ozil or Mkhitaryan to help build up the funds. Feel like you're in a similar situation as we were back when Poch first joined, in that there's a number of over-paid under-performers and therefore it might be worth trying to blood through some youth to get the hunger to play for the badge back and then build from there.
As for us, this is possibly our biggest and most crucial summer under Poch. Personally I think we'll turn some heads with some big signings (hopefully Ndombele and Lo Celso as we need quality in CM) and then stick to our bread and butter of signing promising young players - Jack Clarke looks like he could be nearly done whilst Sessegnon and Aarons have also been strongly linked. If we sort the CM and also RB then I'd fancy us to have a pretty good season.

Yup. You boys looks to be doing it the right way.

Well scouted players but not outrageously overpaying. All young with plenty of potential whilst keeping the strong spine to carry you through (cbs, kane, son etc) and targetting signings in your problem areas


Hopefully we will see toby and eriksen leave else you boys could be set for the next few years if you get cl again

 

[Dier Hard]

Yup. You boys looks to be doing it the right way.

Well scouted players but not outrageously overpaying. All young with plenty of potential whilst keeping the strong spine to carry you through (cbs, kane, son etc) and targetting signings in your problem areas


Hopefully we will see toby and eriksen leave else you boys could be set for the next few years if you get cl again

Yeah it’s been a long process but it does feel like we’re finally reaching that level where we all wanted to be.

The Ndombele signing is huge for us, you more than most know how vocal I’ve been about needing a new elite CM and he really does look the part. If we can add Lo Celso and a new RB too it’ll be a crazily good window.

I’d be very surprised if either Toby or Eriksen are here past the summer. Thankfully we’re nicely stocked at CB to deal with Toby’s loss but Eriksen will be a proper ****ter. It’s why getting Lo Celso and possibly Ceballos too is essential as Eriksen is a player you can’t really replace with a like for like so adding the other two creative CMs means we’ll have a strong selection of midfielders to choose from and very likely go 433 next season instead of our usual 4231.

 

[white_gunner]

its little things like these comments that make me so happy we switched managers.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/9569262/emery-arsenal-title-race-boss-warns-fans-realistic/

Unlike in years past when Wenger would always answer "why not? of course we can win the premiership", we finally have realistic answers from the man in charge.

No we (probably) wont win the league this season, but it makes me happy that SOMEONE involved with the club actually recognizes how far back we are and how much we need to improve to actually challenge.