Arsenal Have To Bite The Bullet And Understand Another Year Of Unai Emery Is A Waste Of A Season

Online Editorial: Gunners Lose Europa League Final Heavily



Arsenal Have To Bite The Bullet And Understand Another Year Of Unai Emery Is A Waste Of A Season


When Arsenal and Chelsea walked out at the beginning of last night’s Europa League Final, the last man in each line of players was Mesut Ozil and Eden Hazard. One who is more often than not carried by his team, the other one who carries his team. Hopefully, both have played their last game for their respective clubs, (Hazard so that the Gunners do not have to face him again, Ozil so we do not have to witness his lack of spirit any more). Ozil was replaced by Joe Willock, although the number 10’s trooping off as if his team were three up as opposed to three down was unforgivable. If he could not produce anything of note, at least give his team-mates as much time as possible to try and stage an unlikely comeback. Willock nearly made it 4-2 shortly after coming on, and had more impact that Ozil in his brief run out.

However, Arsenal did not lose this final simply because of another no-show by their most expensive player. Ultimately the reason for the defeat was that 1 – Chelsea simply defended much better as a team and 2 – were more clinical when chances came their way. It was an off night for the Gunners’ attack, but overall this season, scoring has not been an issue. Conceding goals certainly has. Anyone visiting bet-bonuscode.co.uk would have been on safe ground betting against an Arsenal clean sheet. I received one text that suggested Bernd Leno would have done better with the first two Chelsea goals than the sentimental selection of Petr Cech, but we will never know. The attempts to beat him should have been dealt with before he became involved. It was one of football’s ironies that the critical first goal came from a player Arsenal decided they could do without, who has won three trophies in 12 months since departing.

In fairness, Unai Emery’s team certainly started well, dominating the game for the opening 30 minutes. Sadly, the only attempt of real note was Xhaka’s distant attempt which shaved the top of the bar. Aside from that, Mauritizio Sarri’s team dealt comfortably enough with the threat. 0-0 at the interval, and although Chelsea had come back into the game, you didn’t feel as if Arsenal’s chance was gone. As it turned out, that proved to be the case in a nightmare second half. Giroud, Pedro and Hazard (from the spot) made it 3-0 in a 16 minute period before even half of the second period had been played, as Chelsea used the flanks so much better than their opposition. If there was one game that indicates Kolasinac is not of the requisite quality to play as left-wing back, this was it. He can make the distance, but the end product simply isn’t consistent enough. And defensively he's not all that either. Creatively, Arsenal’s best player in the first half was the much maligned Xhaka, who acted as the fulcrum of the team, creating opportunities for colleagues that Ozil did not.

Iwobi and Guendouzi were waiting to come on when Hazard was bundled over by Ainsley Maitland-Niles for his penalty, so at 3-0, Monreal and a visibly distraught Torreira were replaced. The Uruguayan may have been hurting, but Chelsea had won the midfield battle, as tactically, Sarri triumphed over his opposite number. With hindsight, Emery may have been better with an extra body in midfield, and a back four, but that's history now. He relied on his wing backs to deliver, and they failed. Ultimately, once Chelsea went a goal up, Hazard was given licence to roam as Arsenal chased the game, and he punished them.

Iwobi did offer brief hope with a stunning volley to make it 3-1, but it only lasted three minutes, before Giroud teed up Hazard for a fourth. In fairness, Arsenal kept going, and certainly created more chances then they had done when the game was still in the balance. This though has to be countered with the reality that Chelsea should probably have scored a couple more, such were the nature of their opportunities on the break. They could afford to be profligate by this time.

So Unai Emery’s luck in this particular competition has run out. In his first season, he failed to return the club to the Champions League. The real question is whether or not he has delivered progress, a springboard for genuine recovery. Granted, he has had to work with some sub-standard players, but the sheer number of goals conceded over the course of the campaign, and the nature of so many of them, is damning. He had two new defenders (and chose to let Calum Chambers go out on loan), a new goalkeeper and a battling central midfielder. But he could not organise the defence. He had Steve Bould on the payroll, but presumably chose not to ulitise his knowledge on the training field. Bould’s contract is up this summer, and I’d be surprised if it was renewed in the current cost-cutting ethos at the club. He too, along with Cech and Welbeck, was probably on his last match of active duty as an Arsenal employee in Baku.

There has been a lot of fluff in recent years, espoused by Gazidis and Wenger, about Arsenal’s values. One they conveniently forgot about is the club’s one time reputation for defensive solidity. It needs to return, and the truth is that Emery is not the coach to deliver it. There have been a number of calls to secure the services of the out of work former Milan and Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri, and the club should at least make enquiries. It’s doubtful he’d want the job, and there could be potential vacancies at Manchester United, Chelsea and Spurs depending on how the managerial merry-go-round plays out this summer.

What Arsenal fans need to ask themselves though, and more particularly, what the club’s decision makers need to do so, is whether or not things are going to improve under Emery next season. I don’t see it. The 22 match unbeaten run that ended in December papered over the cracks. Arsenal got lucky in putting that sequence together. It has been pointed out that since Ozil’s re-integration into the first team in the early weeks of 2019, the results started to become far worse. There may be some truth in that, and one thing that everyone should agree on is that at this time, the club need reliable players. The Ozil experience should now be written off as the final disastrous decision of the Wenger / Gazidis era, and he should be allowed to leave or rot at home playing ‘Fortnite’ if no-one will have him. His Arsenal career is surely over now.

Unai Emery’s probably isn’t. He will get another year in all likelihood. Arsenal will fail to make the Champions League again and we’ll wonder why the club waited. Just as they should have called time on Arsene Wenger in May 2017, they’ll make the wrong decision now. They may be ruthless with minor cost-cutting, but shirk the big decisions.

Emery cannot do defence. Put a better coach in and you’ll get a more organised resilient Arsenal than the flaky display we saw in Baku, and on so many other occasions this season. The club need to focus on results now. The winning of the points, the return of consistency and confidence. That is not going to happen with Emery. He’s not suited to the Premier League. Time to admit they gave him a try and it hasn’t worked out. Send him and his team away with a modest pay-off (in comparison to the £17m received by Wenger and his yes men) and give someone else a go. Someone with a reputation for drilling a defence. Arsenal’s last European trophy was in 25 years ago in Copenhagen. It is a much celebrated night in Gooner folklore. The team did not entertain any neutrals in winning 1-0 against Parma, nor did it give a fig about doing so. The values of the club were definitely on display on May 4th 1994.

A footnote. The club’s owner Stan Kroenke was not in attendance at the final last night. Presumably once he was told he would not be sitting next to a member of the Royal Family as in previous finals, he found better things to do. He sent his son Josh instead. I’m not certain what the Kroenkes know about the values of the club, but one thing’s for sure after this season. The value of the club itself has dropped. It would be nice if Silent Stan were to sell up and give someone who actually cares about winning a crack at the whip. Now that would be a real result.

 

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  1. General

    Jun 06, 2019, 7:13 #114080

    To call for Unai’s sacking after a season knowing full well the mess Wenger left behind and the age related decline suffered by some notable defenders is a bit shortsighted. You don’t do undo years of perennial decline in one season. There are deep rooted underlying issues at this club and until they are addressed talk of changing the manager is a bit pointless. The self entitlement of Arsenal fans is astonishing.

  2. ArsenalMagna

    May 31, 2019, 18:27 #113994

    @Gooner Ron, hard to see what else the commercial division could do, apart from maybe secondary sponsorship deals like United (but no other club has really had major success with this as far as I'm aware). Winning the EL would generate an extra £4m (assuming we don't pay £10m bonuses out, as was apparently planned), as would finishing 4th rather than 6th re: EPL money. Obviously CL money is £20-30m, but we can't expect that to happen. I personally don't think that's enough to insure regular top quality players come in. The squad will be thin enough as is were we to follow your approach so selling would be high risk. But, if like you say, we could sell all the deadwood and get in players who make us cemented top 4 finishers, without further purchases being needed for a while, then we'd be back in business! I just think that's a tall order is all.

  3. GoonerRon

    May 31, 2019, 17:41 #113992

    @ ArsenalMagna - so it sounds like with all of that combined we’d be able to do the business I’ve suggested this season, but beyond that the club’s commercial division need to generate more income, the football executives may need to sanction player sales for further signings and the coaching staff / players need to finish higher up the league and / or win the EL.

  4. ArsenalMagna

    May 31, 2019, 14:44 #113987

    @Gooner Ron, the sleeve deal is additional £10m per year, that would still mean a slight operating loss. We can't rely on making the EL final every year. Also the kit deal was part of my calculations already. The reality is you can't just break even if you want regular investment over a period of years. You need a surplus, otherwise you have to sell parts of your own squad to try and remedy deficiencies in other areas of it, which is challenging to say the least.

  5. GoonerRon

    May 31, 2019, 14:29 #113986

    @ Peter Wain - it depends how we play it with Özil. If he’s told we’re moving in a new direction that doesn’t include him it’s highly unlikely he will sit in the U-23’s for 2 years - usually a common sense approach that is viable for all will be found. His wages are insane but a 2 year, £350kpw contract is the same as a £10m signing on fee and 4 years at £125kpw - reachable for many clubs - especially when you consider the commercial impact his ‘brand’ could have on a club.

  6. GoonerRon

    May 31, 2019, 14:22 #113985

    @ ArsenalMagna - we’ve earned an additional €5.5m in participation and reward bonuses in the EL this season (not counting the increase in market distribution), plus sleeve sponsorship, other corporate partnerships signed up in the year should help bridge the gap.

  7. peter wain

    May 31, 2019, 13:33 #113981

    gooner ron you are living in cloud cookoo land if you think Ozil will leave.

  8. ArsenalMagna

    May 31, 2019, 12:57 #113979

    @Gooner Ron, even if we sold players for the amounts you suggest, and used those sums and the £40-45 million 'war chest' to purchase 5 new signings, the fact is that even if this produced, as you say, £18 million per year lower net on the wage bill, that still sees an operating loss of £12 million per year. We need to make an operating profit to purchase players regularly and absorb new contracts for the younger players.

  9. GoonerRon

    May 31, 2019, 12:44 #113978

    @ ArsenalMagna - I was going on the basis we have £40-45m to spend and the rest is generated from the player sales I’ve listed. I think we all sometimes suffer from an Arsenal tunnel vision when it comes to selling our own players. IMO, I don’t think we’d have any trouble offloading the players I’ve mentioned but we’ll need to be shrewd to get good figures for them (or any fee at all for Özil due to his wages). If my estimation of salary is anywhere near correct, if we brought in 5 signings on £200k per week our wage bill would be £18m per year lower net, leaving headroom for renewals / improvements to existing players where necessary.

  10. ArsenalMagna

    May 31, 2019, 10:59 #113973

    Gooner Ron, you might like to read my early comment in this thread which broke down our finances. If we followed the path you recommend we'd make a £30m operating loss each year. We need an operating profit to fund regular team investment and to absorb a probably increasing wage bill. Also, no one is going to buy Ozil or Mkhi. Mustafi, Xhaka, Elneny and Chambers maybe if we're very lucky. I missed out Ospina, but we're still looking at just breaking even from next season for the next two years.

  11. Exiled in Pt

    May 31, 2019, 9:54 #113972

    Mark you make a good point about Rafa and i think he would jump at the chance of another go with a so called big club.There again if the takeover happens soon at Newcastle why would he want to leave when he is going to get an opportunity to spend big and do the one thing no one has done yet , turn them into the big club they say they are !! Just cannot see it happening , think we will have Dick for one more season rightly or wrongly. Agree with GR about what we need my worry is it will be Laca and Auby out the door and not the players that should be going ........Back to a summer of endless shit in the press and very little happening as far as our club goes . It does not take a rocket scientist to work out where the club that finished 5th but had the 9th best defensive record in the PL needs to spend money ...

  12. Wengerballs

    May 31, 2019, 9:47 #113971

    Emery just needs to sort out our defense and tactics away from home. Our defence at home is great. We hardly conceding more than pool or city at home, but we were 15th in the table of away goals conceded. Even Cardiff and Brighton conceded less goals away than us. Emery needs to totally rethink the team formation and defensive line in away games not keep playing 3 at the back with a high line and fullbacks constantly bombing overlaps. Seems thats the only way he knows how to play tho.

  13. peter wain

    May 31, 2019, 9:33 #113970

    I think that we have all got to realise our recent form if continued next year is relegation form. Lets face it with the amount of heart and passion this group of players show I would not be very hopeful if we were down there. Heres hoping we get some good free transfers.

  14. markymark

    May 31, 2019, 8:03 #113969

    Apart from the exotic Allegri’s , who would want shed loads . You’d think Rafa might go for it. Adept at managing problem clubs and at Newcastle as well as Real Madrid levels. The defense would get sorted His ability to deal with the Premier already shown. The budget constraint is short term from what I understand so it’s 40m net this year then it starts to free up. No doubt Emery will stay for year 2 but I think his problems are manifest and growing

  15. GoonerRon

    May 31, 2019, 0:10 #113968

    I must admit I’m a bit torn on Emery. On one hand we’ve seen improvement - in points, league position, progression to EL final, results against the big 6, distance covered etc - however none of it feels particularly seismic (which is perhaps too much to expect in his first season). But because the job is a really hard one, does that mean Emery automatically gets to continue when in the cold light of day he / the team have basically shit the bed at pivotal periods of the season? Perhaps not. Thing is, what top manager is going to be attracted by a lop-sided squad with a poor age profile, needing such a lot of work, in the EL with £40m to spend? They are all going to be tier 2 managers like Emery. I think he will get another season and on balance I’d probably go with that but Sanllehi is going to need to have the best summer a football executive has ever had for us to come out of the other side with a squad that is capable, with sufficient leadership and belief, to achieve anything close to what we need to next year. I just hope the club recognise the need to cut deep into the squad to start the rebuild. Ozil - £5m (£350k wages) Mkhi - £8m (£180k) Mustafi - £15m (£90k) Xhaka - £35m (£100k) Chambers - £20m (£60k) Jenks - £3m (£35k) Osp - £7m (£60k) Elneny - £12m (£60k) Ram - OOC (£110k) Welbz - OOC (£80k) Cech - OOC (£100k) Lich - OOC (£90k) That’s 12 players out without thinking too hard about it. £105m in and £68m per year off the wage bill. Bring in Martinez, Macey, Willock, E-SR, Nelson, Osei-Tutu and Bielik from the youth team and have £145m and c. £150-200k per week for 5 top quality, experienced signings that will improve our first XI - including a CB, CM, 2 x wide players and a 3rd choice CF. Loan out Nketiah and Mavropanos. GK - Leno, Martinez, Macey LB - Monreal, Kolasinac RB - Bellerin, Osei-Tutu CB - Sokratis, Holding, Koscielny, New Guy CM - Torreira, Guen, AMN, Bielik, New Guy AM/Wide - ESR, Iwobi, Willock, Nelson, 2 x New Guy CF - Auba, Laca, New Guy It looks like a lot but integrating 5 new signings shouldn’t be difficult and the rest of the younger players have trained with the first on numerous occasions so should fit in seamlessly.

  16. The Man From UNCLE

    May 30, 2019, 20:27 #113967

    Oh Lord where do we go from here. Go on YouTube and watch some of our early to mid 80'a games (that 0-2 reverse at stoke in 1985 for instance) and see if you can spot the difference from our current vintage. Ah well at least there'll be plenty of spare tickets for Thursday Night Football next season.

  17. mbg

    May 30, 2019, 20:21 #113966

    mad max, your dead right mate we've been saying that on here for years and years right through the second half of wengers reign, to tolerant, to nice, to believing, to forgiving etc, etc, and look where it has got us look at the mess we're in now because of it, I hope all you who sat on your hands during all the embarraaaments under wenger and everyrhing else that went with it and hoped for better next time are happy now.

  18. west stand 1955

    May 30, 2019, 20:18 #113965

    It appears that the majority of posts here are of the opinion that "project youth" is the way forward for the club and that Dick is not the man for the job. Why not go all the way for youth and give Arteta his chance, as many of us thought was going to happen last season. He may not wish to leave his present position in a treble winning club but another year of Emery is doomed to failure in my opinion, as alluded to by the Editor in his opening headline.

  19. CORNISH GOONER

    May 30, 2019, 19:51 #113964

    Think I was too optimistic about Dick but 3 EPLs made him a sensible choice but it's far more than about him isn't it? It's all well & good banging on about the £73k spent last summer but had he fully appreciated the "quality" of the squad he inherited & the nature of the EPL then we would have seen a massive issue of P45s back then. So we have wasted a year & the Club is at its lowest point for many, many years. It comes to something that we all now believe that The Arsenal, in one of the world's richest cities, cannot now attract elite managers. I sensed this result & performance was coming, our "squad" is little more than a bunch of featherbrained giggly girls & I no longer find the videos of them indulging themselves in training etc. amusing. You could make a strong case for retaining no more than a couple of outfielders plus Leno & canning the rest. I slept well last night when usually I am too upset after a defeat like this as I have all but given up as long as we have this bland nonentity of an American Corporation as owners. imo untalented, boring Stanley has zilch to recommend him as someone who should be involved with UK footie, being no more than a mediocrity, someone who has profited from the Walmart connection. But this is today's USA business culture isn't it? Tyrants like that old monster Henry Ford & other business giants have long left the building to finally evolve into the likes of our Stan. God help us!

  20. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 18:50 #113963

    I’ve heard on the grapevine that both Martin and Gary L are slimy . However unpleasant people can be good coaches and lovely people can be terrible coaches. I’d go for the good coach every time. We should remember that one of our greatest defenders David O’Leary appears to be completely nuts. I think footballers are very 50/50 either being lovely or horrible ( no doubt a pressure coping mechanism ). Some of the guys I thought would be horrible like Graham LeSaux and Peter Schmeichel are by all accounts great guys.

  21. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 18:43 #113962

    I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Tony and believe me it was a pleasure. I’ve met someone who met Martin Keown. Sadly this wasn’t such a pleasure. His defending of Wenger was almost idiotic. However being a great guy or holding contrary views doesn’t stop you being a good defensive coach. As Don Howe says ( now he was a coach ! ) Martin created a very disciplined defense from the post invisible team when Wenger was starting to go for Eboue’s . They conceded the least amount of goals I believe in the 2006 tournament and we were generally solid. When Martin was kicked into touch our defensive problems really took a nose dive.

  22. ArsenalMagna

    May 30, 2019, 18:06 #113961

    I honestly think Ozil is one of the worst signings this club has ever made. We spent a year getting Cazorla, Giroud and Podolski gelled into the team, and Cazorla even whilst adapting to the EPL showed himself to be 10 times the playmaker Ozil could ever be. Wenger's needless hoarding of money saw the board panic buy a player Real knew was inferior to Modric, even though we didn't need another number 10! I honestly think that if Ozil had never joined we would have won a lot more since 2013.

  23. mbg

    May 30, 2019, 17:49 #113960

    Yes where are all the Ozil lovers today ? What a fooking waste of space (and of course he's bot alone) and a lot of us have been saying that for a long time now, did you see the way he dandered off like he was on the beach no urgency whatsoever what a Easter. You'd think in a final this shower could have got themselves up for it, but no they hadn't even that in them the useless shower. Emery certainly deserves another season with decent players he wants and fancies himself but that's hardly likely now after we've all been let down by these losers.

  24. Pauljames

    May 30, 2019, 17:28 #113959

    A disastrous second half, and quite frankly it takes some doing to lose 4-1 to one of the most ordinary Chelsea teams in years.Where we go from here I really don’t know, the squad needs major surgery but there is little money. People talk of young players but there is nothing to suggest this current crop are any better than the carling cup players that Wenger used to blood. Honestly we are in a real mess, and don’t be surprised if bigger clubs come in for Auba or Laca either. If we lose either of them I don’t even see us in the top 6 next term.

  25. Don Howe

    May 30, 2019, 17:26 #113958

    The reason I want Keown is because he has coached a poor back 4 to be impregnable. He isn't the worst Wenger apologist on earth either. The stadium is full of people who are complicit in the Wenger disaster and these are the same mental amputees who still sing Ozil's name. I totally respect the opinions of those who want toleration of a poor defence cut out now. How many of us will write to Dick and tell him POLITELY that he has to sort that out ? Send him a letter. He might read it. Adams isn't a coach. An Icon yes, a legend yes, a coach no.

  26. itsRonagain2

    May 30, 2019, 17:19 #113957

    Exiled - with you re Adams. Definitely not, the slippery, lounge lizard Mr Keown, a man who for me has been as you say with his Wenger stance and his annoying perennial PC fence sitting when he speaks of any Club not just AFC, so to keep his well paid job on that sofa with the other half wit pundits who join him. I never thought he was much of a player to be honest, but like a good few of those pundits Keown gets better, the more that time passes since he last played and kicked a ball in anger. Hes now the self appointed hardest man who ever played the game. Hard my arse! Adams might be a bit weird as a bloke but as you say, he is an Arsenal man and could still relate to players and would do a good job especially with the type of lesser defensive players we now recruit. AFC wont ever recruit him though as hes too strong a personality and im not sure Dick copes with that based on his previous fun and games with Neymar and Co. On the flip side, im not totally sure Adams would cope too well with limitations on his remit to coach defensive play as he still harbours an intent to be the man man some where i suspect.

  27. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 16:47 #113956

    ArsenalMagna - pretty fair points. I’m not that worried about the transfer budget as we have at least 3 young players who could play significant roles if allowed. Any raiding of Europe for 30 year olds who are off the pace with the most aggressive league in Europe would just feed more anger at Emery. He’s had a year now , average players can be taught to follow defensive disciplines. It’s got nothing to do with being infected with some sort of DNA / anti defending lurgy . Keown coached a poor defence to be the meanest in Europe during 2006. He could do a job again. Emery’s sides leak goals, the phases we play are too slow and we have big gaps appearing all over the park . This is down to coaching . Emery has really messed up. Sadly unless he has a brilliant starting 10 games he’s going to be under the cosh. I suspect he will then cower from playing youth by trying to go safety first, which is actually the worst thing he could do as I suspect the senior players might start playing to get him sacked. Best to go and start again I’d say

  28. TonyEvans

    May 30, 2019, 16:38 #113955

    Emery has not made enough of a difference in his first year for me. We still look too much like a Wenger team, especially defensively, which is hardly surprising when you look at Emery’s record at his previous clubs. He’s not the man for the job but, I fear, he will get at least another season. Last night was the final straw and now we have the small matter of the Spuds possibly ending up as CL winners to look forward to!

  29. ArsenalMagna

    May 30, 2019, 15:48 #113954

    As I said in my previous comment, the best-case scenario is that we have an operating profit of £40-50 million per year by the 2021-22 season, even without CL football. That would require shifting the deadwood and building around the youth. Before then, it'll just be breaking even and only buying players with money from sales. That does point towards internal solutions like using Nelson, Willock etc. more, but we still need a proper coach for that strategy to work. Emery is not the right man as it's defence we need. At first I thought he was just playing gung ho to procure a quick return to the CL, emphasising our strengths (the strikers) and ignoring our weaknesses (everything defensive), but the truth is that all his teams ship lots of goals. The optimum course is surely to play balanced football vs the weaker teams and rely on Auba/Laca to get us enough goals with less chances (we have the best shot conversion rate in the league after all), and to counterattack against the strongest sides. Also, this season has shown that you have to choose between a European campaign and a domestic one. Would anyone disagree with me that that's the best way forward? If it is, then would you seriously say that Emery is capable/going to deliver that?

  30. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 15:24 #113953

    The problem for Emery is that under his watch two methods of reaching top 4 have blown up in his face. I’d go so far as to say it was more difficult not to qualify for top 4 than to actually do it. Arsenal were in the driving seat the other “Top Sides” has dropped points left right and centre . Brighton were made to look very good by us. We were dreadful that game. No doubt it was the players blowing up with pressure but it makes Dick look incompetent . Not a good look . It feels like PSG vs Barcelona all over again.

  31. Exiled in Pt

    May 30, 2019, 15:01 #113952

    Ron you i and i think everyone else on here knows minimal investment will continue on poor European talent to give the affect we are trying to compete , with the owner happy to see any position around 4 to 6 , just enough to keep the watered down fan base happy , the season tickets paid for and not having to dip into his pocket. I still think anyone that thinks empty seats helped get rid of Wenger is not quite seeing the bigger picture . Empty seats are irrelevant when they have been paid for .........I just hope Dick surprises us and has a good chat with Freddie , maybe he should be sitting where Bouldy has been , as he is doing wonders with the u23's . Also i would have Adams in to coach the defensive side of the game not Keown ,who was to keen to sit on a fence for how many seasons when it came to speaking out about Wenger and the problems at the club unlike Tony who said it as it was from the start ...

  32. itsRonagain2

    May 30, 2019, 14:25 #113951

    Fully agree with all who say use the young players now. Arsenal FC cant become any more humiliated and insipid than theyve been this last 10 years by using them. We ve lived with humiliation now for so long, its embedded in the clubs psyche. Bringing in a crop of rookies now wouldnt be a wenger type project youth, as his was based on snaffling up kids from foreign clubs and hoping for the best. We now have some decent genuine home grown ones it seems to me. It means we could fall lower than we have before it gets better, but im with Exiled on his take on the risks of that. The trouble is, im not sure the powers that be are prepared to take a few steps back to take a few steps forward. Theyre likely to stick with the hapless squad we have now while it keeps getting a top 6 spot.

  33. Don Howe

    May 30, 2019, 14:07 #113950

    1) Ozil must go and if it is right that we will have to run his contract down it is better to dismiss him for lack of performance as you would do any useless employee. If the board don't know how to get this done then I volunteer to show them. 2) Dick has had a season to impose a solid defence. Any old bunch of park players can be coached to defend. We need to get Keown in yesterday and build from the back. If Dick doesn't like it then he knows what he can do. 3) Dick is capable of doing a job on teams as he has proved this season. There has been improvement but we need energy for this. There is only so much energy to go round 4) The Europa League is a cash only issue but its important. We should treat it in graduated cash raising priorities only - viz, how do we get to a level where we get a decent amount of money but keep our involvement in the comp to a minimum. 5) Dick has inherited an appalling mess and asking him to clear it in one season is simply unreasonable. 6) Our young players and thirsting for a go at the problem. We should embrace that. 7) Petr Cech said an interesting thing last night namely that a huge amount of work has gone in this season which will shown next season. I hope that he is right and we shall see. 8) The moron got rid of Giroud as he squandered destroyed and wasted everything he touched. Our anger at last night, aimed at Mr Emery is misplaced. He should be (politely and respectfully) disciplined and told to get help to sort the defence out, but not in my view dismissed. A disappointing result, but not unexpected given that we played 75 minutes with 10 men. To paraphrase the words of Ernst Stavro Blofeld - SACK OZIL NOW.

  34. Exiled in Pt

    May 30, 2019, 13:47 #113949

    sorry got carried away forgot to say not showing up sums the Yanks interest in his club as lets be honest it is not ours anymore ............

  35. Exiled in Pt

    May 30, 2019, 13:45 #113948

    Have to laugh as already been said not a chance in hell of Allegri or Maureen taking the job ! Everything you need to know about the ambition of the club was on show when the owner who is such a sports fan if you believe the bullshit we have been fed by the paid puppets !! Dick will get another season , my only hope is he brings the youth in as the Willock and Ainsley showed we have very good English players coming up and gets rid of some of the dross .. I would settle now for 2 or 3 seasons of mid table finishes to play them and the rest of the under 23 lads with a couple of wise heads in defense plenty of good English defenders available in the PL . Of course Stan can then reduce the ticket prices accordingly and maybe we can get some real support back in the concrete bowl at the same time ........no harm in dreaming

  36. itsRonagain2

    May 30, 2019, 12:58 #113947

    The Arsenal job would make even Mourinho whince and run a mile. Can see why hes mentioned but him working with no budget? He d never even contemplate it. Work with the kids? Never happen. Work with this faceless crew in the background behind and above Dick? No chance. The only attraction to him would be to have Wengers office! Mourinho might be tarnished goods these days but he ll wont fancy having his CV totally destroyed by going to N17.

  37. itsRonagain2

    May 30, 2019, 12:49 #113946

    noting there are a few barbs being thrown at Dick. Dont forget lads though that hes not a top marque Coach anyway, hes a few rungs lower than your truly top operators and the Club knew this when they gave him the job. He came in on the basis of being paid a salary level lower than the best Coaches are paid and to work with a budget at a very low level.

  38. Nos89

    May 30, 2019, 12:48 #113945

    Disagree about Emery. He has earned the right to stay for another season. The 22 match unbeaten run suggests he knows how to keep the team ticking. At the end the end of the game Emery looked disappointedly furious with his team, and maybe with himself. To me, it appears he was giving the players a chance to prove themselves. Yes he tinkered with the defence to find a solution with the players at his disposal. The answer that he found is that they are simply not good enough. Giroud made mincement of Koscielny, who was so far behind Hazard for the 4th goal it looked as if he barely moved in the 8 yards. Unlike the BFG's glorious cup final performance in 2017, alongside Holding, Koscielny's last final was a tragedy. Cech, who over the course of the season kept more clean sheets than Leno, gave the absolute professional display. Arsenal should make a last ditch effort to keep him on their coaching staff. Gonna say this, Tony Adama should be brought back into the club in a directoral role. I doubt if Josh Kroenke has the balls to make such an appointment because I imagine Adams would have half the players (and board members) up against the wall by the throat. He's got the credentials and he is an Arsenal man. We can no longer shun the greats from out past. He's got a statue outside the ground he should be inside the club. Remember the role Ken Friar had, well, Adams should have that job for life. The values of Arsenal are still very strong in him. If the club were to change and look for someone who knows how to defend, simply there is only one manager available, Jose Mourinho. Object to that all you want but you know its the truth.

  39. peter wain

    May 30, 2019, 12:41 #113944

    we lost because chelski are better than us. We have no good defenders not even average defenders just poor slow ones. The transfer dealings over the last 5/10 transfer windows have been depressing . We need to buy top top quality but never ever do and with an owner like dick we will not be competing in the future. I think our manager is second rate- his judement of a player suspect, his tactics poor and he cannot get players to defend.The owner is 5th rate at best. We need massive investment and with a transfer budget just north of 50p we will not get it. There is no point in investing in another slow centre half. We should save our money and use our youth team. Cut the season ticket prices. We need a new manager but that will not come until next year and it would be better to build up a transfer war chest rather than fritter what little money we do have (after building LA Rams new stadium).

  40. itsRonagain2

    May 30, 2019, 12:01 #113943

    I never saw the game but thought we might have done better and nicked it, but Chelsea have big occasion players dont they. I think the loss is actually a blessing in disguise. To have won would have been a massive papering over of the cracks and lets be honest the club wouldn't have invested in a winning squad to much extent. Its true that not much has changed since Wengers time but Dick still merits another year. He inherited a terrible mess there and has an owner who isnt too fussed about progression from where they are now. Arsenal are what they are, a club who hover around 5th/6th. They dont aspire to be any different. Football has changed greatly and Arsenal arent a big player anymore, thats the hard truth many supporters still need to get used to.

  41. Herd

    May 30, 2019, 11:43 #113942

    I think we need to cut Emery some slack here he was handed a crock of poo from the previous regime . The team he inherited could not defend and I very much doubt if the decision to farm out Chambers was his ,for that you need to look at the technocrats that run the "Franchise" ! He walked in to a club where the foul smell of Ozil's attitude permeates the air. Injuries have left us without Holding, Kos, and Bellerin for nearly all of the season. Monreal has NEVER been able to defend ,Kolosinac Jenkinson and Mustafi are not good enough for premiership and Lischteiner is slower than I am . Konstantinos Mavropanos is young but so far hasn't been widely used and Sokratis is new . Maitland-Niles is NOT a defender and we face ruining him if we keep him there . So much for the Defense ! Our Midfield is also crap Ozil and miki are lightweight and ineffectual and worse they don't do defense,Xhaka is a joke Elneny would not make it in League 1 let alone the premiership , and Gouendouzi is young and a headless chicken whose talents need developing ,however in Torreira we have a man who can do a job as holding midfielder . A midfield is supposed to help in defense and attack ,ours doesn't ! The consequence of a poor midfield has impact not only on the defense which is already poor and hence ships goals for fun but has an impact on our attacking players who get little service . We could have done with a large target man to hold up the play and chip in with a goal or two ,wonder where we could have got one of those eh, oh yea we had one what was his name again ??? Let's lay the Blame here ,it's the fault of the Old Fraud Arsene Wenger ,he left us in a state of total disaster as his house of cards finally came down. The club have a Massive rebuilding program to undertake. To sack Emery now in my opinion would commit to yet another season of transfer inactivity as the new boss looks to shuffle the pack before rebuilding but what is needed is drastic action to root ,branch and leaf of the rotting Arsenal Tree . Emery needs to get rid of around 9 players minimum and we are losing another 3 with Welbeck ,Cech and Ramsey off ! He will have a limited budget so we must attempt to extract some value from the players we sell . Ozil will have to leave on a free as no-one will pay cash for him, What money would you extract for Jenkinson,Mustafi,orLichsteiner ? Not a lot as Mr Daniels would say !There is much work to be done ,whether the Club not just Emery has the stomach or the competence for it remains to be seen . I'm not saying he hasn't made mistakes but the task he has is immense so he needs to be given backing and a fair chance I say ! But say we do get rid of him ,who would come ,Allegri ,Maureen, forget it these people are way out of our league ,we kid ourselves if we think we are in the big boys league when it comes to managers !

  42. Seven Kings Gooner 1

    May 30, 2019, 11:31 #113941

    Whilst I agree we need an ambitious owner and our current one needs to sell up - he played no part in last night's sh*tfest. Last night you saw the results again, of abandoning the strong parts of the English game that were carried out by Arsene over 10 years ago. To really change the direction at Arsenal we need to have fan representation on the board and push for the club to adopt the German model of running a football club. This will not mean trophies every season but it might just mean the fans are more together and that the players don't collapse every time they concede a goal.

  43. ArsenalMagna

    May 30, 2019, 11:09 #113940

    Fully agree that Emery should go. The fact is, he has CHOSEN not to play balanced football. Steve Bould had a huge impact when he first joined the club, but he hasn't been utilised since then because of the flawed 'idealism' of Wenger and Emery. Ozil is on too much money to leave and should just be put in the reserves a la Bale or Sanchez. Also, 5-3-2 is a terrible formation, it leaves huge space in front of the full-back - just look at the first goal last night. I think we might need to accept the fact that there is a slim window for us to reestablish ourselves as a top club, but that the club won't exploit it. Let's look at the finances here: we had a £60m operating loss for the last financial year. With the new kit deal, that will drop to £30m. The only way to reduce it further is the wage bill. This summer, we'll definitely lose Cech (£100k per week), Welbeck (£115k), Ramsey (£110k), Lichtsteiner (£90k), Jenkinson (£45k), so about £24 million pounds per year. We may also lose Koscielny (£100k) and Monreal (£70k) for another £9 million pounds per year. That theoretical £3m operating profit likely won't improve for another two years till the contracts of Mustafi (£90k), Ozil (£350k), Mkhitaryan (£180k), Socratis (£90k) and Aubameyang (£200k) expire (great player Auba, not last night, but can't see him staying age 33/34). That's a whopping £47 million pounds per year added to our finances. Would be great if Xhaka (£100k), Elneny (£60k) and Kolasinac (£120k) could be sold too but don't hold your breath, they're contracted till 2022/23 (heaven help us). Where the club could succeed is in mainly using our youth players well to fill in for vacating players, and using a healthy operating profit of £40-50m (even without CL football), plus money from player sales, to purchase a quality player or two per year. That won't happen with the idiots at the club, the same morons who thought it a good idea to give Ozil £350k per week at a time of belt tightening! Instead, they'll spunk the £40 million 'war chest' this summer mostly on the plodding Ryan Fraser and they'll keep bringing in has-beens and putting them on disproportionately high wages.

  44. Bob Bayliss

    May 30, 2019, 11:02 #113939

    The one man I would live to see at Arsenal is Diego Simeone. He would restore the Arsenal values we recognise. Yes, under this owner it is extremely unlikely we would attract him, but you have to dream big.

  45. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 10:59 #113938

    Mad Max - I think you’ll have to wade through the Emery out supporters first. I reckon you need to go through a few more failed mangers yet before the clamour starts to dislodge Stan . He’d probably have over to Josh first who tbf actually paid a visit last year resulting in Wenger out and maybe Ivan out. It’s almost as a fan that the ideal owner is a egotistical crazed tyrant who won’t stop at sacking until he gets his glory (Abramovich maybe ?) A measured owner causes frustration as we demand success. Stan has actually been guilty of over loyalty as well as possible disinterest. Anyway what I demand is defensive competence! . It needs to be the number one rule . All this faff about our brand of football was Wenger and Ivan covering up obvious weakness. When Wenger’s eye for a player went and his overall influence declined we went downhill fast as the defensive frailties were exposed. Emery's sin is not to correct this

  46. RobG

    May 30, 2019, 10:58 #113937

    Well that was awful and no mistake. But by the same token Emery has at least one more season like it or not. None of the 'stellar' alternatives would come AND they would cost a fortune AND demand to spend one. Mourinho will not come here and it's just as well, as we don't need more chaos. His salary demand alone would see to that. Same with Ancelotti. If Emery were to go, we would be looking at Howe or Dyche - no bad thing. But they would still be confronted by the Kronkes and no money in comparison with our 'rivals'. Emery is still hamstrung by the dross he inherited. I've seen far worse players at Arsenal than Ozil. But I have never seen one who cost so much and is paid so well, delivering such perfunctory indifference on the pitch. He was frankly a disgrace. Although the problem goes deeper than just him. But he and others have to go and we have to play a mix of 'bargain buys' and the younger players like Willock and Smith-Rowe. Again not bad thing. If Emery departs next year, he might just leave a better balanced squad for his successor and that would be a trophy, in itself.

  47. west stand 1955

    May 30, 2019, 10:42 #113936

    A spot on post editor. Surely the yanks will call time on squeaky voice, from a financial angle if not for our recent performances? The fact that we had 3rd place in the bag in March and to let it go, seemingly to concentrate on the risky strategy of winning the Europa is sufficient justification on its own? Third spot was nailed on and a safe pair of hands such as Benitez would have seized the moment. Talking about Benitez, why not go for him? Newcastle are in a state of flux at present and a quick move could clinch it. As often said on this forum, the lack of defensive coaching has been a costly problem for us, coupled with often total collapse, the memory of which is becoming an unwanted millstone around our neck; this time against the chavs which to me rates with the 8-2 v Man U and 5-1 v the scousers.

  48. Sarflunden

    May 30, 2019, 10:15 #113935

    We lost last night's game, in my opinion, against Palace. Team imploded and the players and Emery couldn't do anything about it. Then again at Leicester etc. I'm starting to think that deep down the players don't want to win. Maybe they don't like the pressure of been a winning team. Maybe Wenger's "fourth place is a trophy" is now Emery's "5/6th place is a trophy"? I look forward to more boring Thursday/Sunday games in an emptying stadium as another season of Emery ball winds down to failure.

  49. mad max

    May 30, 2019, 10:14 #113934

    i'm afraid we arsenal fans are too tolerant, the only way forward for this great football club is to oust the Kroenke's from power, the fact he didn't show up last night tells you a lot about the type of person he is. the Russian gangster was there for Chelsea, sheik Mansour turns up at every city game, the glazers follow man ure everywhere. we need to get active the former custodians of the arsenal should hang there heads in shame selling there shares to that parasite. as the editor says I also don't think emery is the right coach to take us forward, we had an easy chance to get champions league football via the premier league but his players managed to lose 4 of our last six games the defending is as bad as it ever was under inspector clueless, his decision making is questionable. the club should be busting a gut to employ either tony adams or martin keown to organise the defence, very sad days to watch a great club in decline, the players were forced to go over and say thanks to the many fans that had travelled, they clearly don't give a f---- .these capitulations in defence have been going on for the best part of the last decade, enough is enough stop going to the matches force the American parasite out of our club. going in to work is gonna be very hard for a lot of us today.

  50. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 10:00 #113933

    In a way it’s probably better that Josh saw this. I’m just hoping he’s got a bit more passion about him than Silent Stan. If he has got passion he will sack off Emery rather than have 10 games of fan angst. I watched us against Brighton and have to say it fuelled the fear of what might happen. Emery blew 4th and he blew the Europa by not going tighter at 1-0. Too many mistakes now it’s best he goes

  51. markymark

    May 30, 2019, 9:47 #113932

    I’d take Max any day of the week but I think this is s job for Maureen. He’s being rapidly proved right in regard to his best achievement finishing 2nd with that UTD team. I’d put up with Maureen’s misery for 2 years and he might get happy not having to live in a hotel . Games against UTD and Chelsea would be specially interesting . In reality though let’s just grab Eddie Howe

  52. Rob Admin

    May 30, 2019, 9:47 #113931

    I couldn't get excited about this competition with a pensioner in goal. He is not entirely to blame but a top keeper would have saved that first goal. On the upside no CL means less $ for Kronke to syphon from the club which can only be a good thing.