If Arsenal continue on their current trajectory and maintain their dismal form, the board will actually be negligent if they allow the situation to get worse under Unai Emery.
One imagines that the words of Arsenal head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham are still ringing in his ears after the pair announced,
“Results and performances are not at the level we want or expect and things need to improve.”
It’s not quite a gun to the head of the coach but it’s pretty close should he fail to turn the corner swiftly.
It’s highly likely that in a scenario where the Spaniard gets the bump, Arsenal will finish the season under Freddie Ljungberg with perhaps the assistance of Per Mertesacker.
Anyone expecting an immediate big appointment will be disappointed because Arsenal are notoriously slow to react to circumstances and even with the board restructure, it unfortunately feels the same.
The peripheral elements are also a distraction with the press being guilty of copy and paste with their list of candidates and those suggestions have met with varied reactions but it’s not something we are going to go into here.
Also the Arsenal supporters aren’t helping at the moment because they are understandably pessimistic in regards of the team, the coach and the eventual finishing position. It’s difficult to imagine the intensity of the pressure from Emery’s perspective and how he deals with the constant scrutiny.
All this is obviously a complete contrast to the buoyant mood of the summer when Arsenal were fancied to be challenging for third and forth. How unlikely is that now ? On current form, it’s another season of disappointment.
Of course things can change but if things continue how long do they wait ? It’s been said that Emery has six games to save his career at Arsenal but the gunners are 17 points behind Liverpool and only 10 points ahead of Norwich at the bottom or in more basic terms three wins and a draw from swapping places with them.
The swift actions of Spurs will also add to the complexity of the problem because if ‘Spuds’ start climbing up the table with ‘Maureen’ in charge and Arsenal remain stagnant, there will be problems.
You already sense that the arsenal supporters are searching in their garages for their ‘out’ banners and clubbing together to hire a private plane to fly over the Emirates.
Problems in the Arsenal dressing room never actually right themselves and once something is wrong it becomes unworkable. The main problem, as we’ve reported is that Emery has zero leadership qualities and lacks the ability to push his ideas. He thrives on meticulous preparation and reams of data but it’s had a negative effect on his players who have been overwhelmed by theoretical football.
His decision making has been questionable and his ability to manage the Ozil and Xhaka debacle has been poor. Ozil has been the patsy for the poor performances by being made an example of and assuming the role of an outcast.
Xhaka was thrown under the bus to the media, when Emery should have declared the players petulant Palace outburst, as a club matter but instead he openly agreed that the player was wrong, which he was, but he needed to avoid agreement to maintain player unity.
It seems that all we blog about at the moment is the negative aspects at the Emirates. Yet, even if Arsenal went on a run of wins at the moment, it’s a band aid on a major wound.
Arsenal need an identity, they need to find their passion because they are so far behind Liverpool and Manchester City it’s hard to contemplate them getting on terms without more transfers and new leadership. It’s gone horribly wrong and in the time it takes to blink.
READ MORE: A Transformation in Fortunes:- Will Ozil Manage to Outlast Unai Emery at Arsenal
