Kevin Whitcher
Well, well, well. I think we have identified exactly what Unai Emery football is going to give us in the long term. It is, in a strange way, a development of what Arsene Wenger was trying to do as his teams gradually drifted away from the top table. The difference is that his replacement, at least so far, is managing to pull it off.
Playing the ball around your own half and risking possibly costly loss of possession. Check
Full backs bombing on leaving huge gaps behind them to exploit. Check
A preference for a 4-3 victory over a tight 1-0. Check
Some glorious attacking football. Check.
The real question is, with largely the same players as Arsenal had last season, what exactly is different this time around? The team got nowhere near winning six Premier League matches in a row in Arsene’s final campaign, and have already notched three away victories, just one less than they managed in the whole of 2017-18.
I think it’s a mixture of factors. There seems to be a stronger team spirit, symbolized by the French speaking triangle of Lacazette, Aubameyang and Guendouzi. Linked to this there seems a streak of resilience that has not been seen for too long, perhaps reflecting a more passionate approach amongst the coaching staff. It was all very nicey-nicey before with no-one challenging anybody, and certainly no-one challenging Arsene Wenger. The working relationship between Emery and his number two Juan Carlos Carcedo appears to be a lot more of a combined effort than the one Wenger enjoyed with Steve Bould, perhaps a case of two heads being better than one. Who knows what technical differences there are on the training ground, but there are positive noises coming from the players even though there seems to be more work and greater discipline. There is no doubt that the mass clearout of Arsene’s cronies in the summer was an attempt to address the culture of complacency, where everyone felt unchallenged and comfortable. After so many years of the same thing, an element of staleness had set in. Now, nine wins in a row in all competitions suggest a re-invigorated squad, one where no-one can take their starting place for granted. Critically, I believe some attitude has been imported into the club, certainly in the form of Torreira and Lichtsteiner, and arguably with Sokratis too. This can be infectious. Would Arsene Wenger have signed prickly players, or would he have been too wary of them rocking the boat? The final ingredient is the emphasis on, once the opportunity for an attack develops, getting the ball forward at greater pace. There is less ponderance in the play, less crab football. And there is noticeably greater priority on width and three of yesterday’s goals came from balls played into the danger area from the by-line.
It was the first visit to Craven Cottage for a few years, and not much seems to have changed. I have been asked to point out that the facilities for visiting disabled fans are not up to scratch, by which I mean that their platform to watch the game is not high enough for them to be able to see over the heads of the supporters in front of them. Granted, standing fans shouldn’t, according to the ground rules, be standing, but people get on their feet to see the game because the people in front of them are standing. It happens in pretty much every away section in every stadium, so clubs must anticipate this in their planning and design. Apparently the commentary for blind spectators did not work until a quarter of the game had been played either. So quaint as Fulham’s stadium is, there is room for improvement.
The home side started well, and had their best spell of the game during the opening 20 minutes. Ozil was missing with back spasms, Aubameyang on the bench due to his recovering from illness. Mustafi replaced Sokratis from the trip to Baku, and both Welbeck and Iwobi kept their places from Thursday evening. It was bold use of the squad by Emery, and demonstration that he has faith in his back-up players, given this was potentially his most difficult match since the visit to Chelsea. Alex Lacazette returned to the centre forward position and Henrikh Mkhitaryan benefited from Ozil’s absence by getting a start.
It took a while for a relatively unfamiliar line-up to get into their stride, and possession was lost a little alarmingly by the likes of Bellerin and Torreira. However, it was Arsenal that opened the scoring as Monreal got wide and crossed low, the ball being controlled by Lacazette whose snap shot into the corner of the goal made it 1-0. The good work was undone when Monreal played a speculative pass as half time neared, and when intercepted, it left the defence exposed with Andre Schurrle taking advantage and chipping the onrushing Leno.
The second half was for the most part one way traffic. It’s strange to think that Fulham were the team who did not have a game in midweek, as Arsenal took control. Soon after the re-start, Lacazette doubled his tally by latching onto a throw-in and from outside the area firing into the same part of the goal, low down to the keeper’s right, as he did for the opener. Welbeck and Iwobi were replaced with fresh legs in the form on Aubameyang and Ramsey, two substitutes that definitely had an impact. Ramsey put his side 3-1 up halfway through the second half after a lovely build-up featuring himself, Bellerin, Mkhitaryan and Aubameyang was finished by his converting the chance with the inside of his heel. It was a thing of beauty, and a good way for the Welshman to answer his critics. The Invincibles could not have scored a more sublime goal.
After 78 minutes, Aubameyang scored a similar goal to Lacazette’s first in the way he controlled Bellerin’s cross before finishing. He added a second in injury time, set up by Ramsey. It was the best Arsenal display we have seen since the change of manager, and had the away end chanting, “We’ve Got Our Arsenal Back”. There is a feelgood buzz around the club at the moment, and by the end of the day, they sat in fourth place, two points behind the leaders.
Unai Emery is slowly starting to put his stamp on the club. It’s a version of possession football closer to Guardiola’s Barcelona than Wenger was ever able to achieve – and God knows, he tried. The reason is the greater intensity of the players’ work-rate, focus and willingness to get the ball forward at pace. They seem more motivated, which is what they have to be if someone is going to get more out of them. The result and performance gives great cause for optimism going into another international break. Arsenal aren’t going to win the title this season, they will drop too many points against stronger teams than they have faced in recent weeks. But they are progressing towards the situation where they will be taken credibly as title challengers, and another summer transfer window will see more of the type of players that Emery needs arrive, due to improved scouting operation.
This season though, is one in which to relax and enjoy the changes, as Emery’s work begins to show fruition.
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