Could’ve done with all the players out for the season tbh.
I know he’s not well rated but we could’ve done with Welbeck for some stretches of matches too.
Holding is important too, but I wonder if the significance around it is whether it’s Holding the player or just the fact that having our CB fits keeps Mustafi off the teamsheet, I’m getting the .blues where I’m shitting myself just like when Silvestre/Squillaci was starting.
He’s vital to the system Emery seems to employ.
Just doesn’t function the same way without him and no one can replicate what he brings to the table, it’s a real head scratcher why we opted to sign someone who’s physically past it in Lichsteiner to be his stand in. They are totally different players even if Lichsteiner could still defend to a reasonable level.
That’s a major fuck up from those making the decisions.
This is what happens when a deal is completed before the manager gets through the door basically. No way would Emery have ever wanted him as a option, considering what he likes his fullbacks to be.
Exactly.
I remember perfectly well everyone (including me) complaining about “passing the ball” into the net and still not scoring when we should have or having substantial amount of possession yet not receiving the result we deserved.
For me personally, season 18-19 was always going to be a season with no serious judgement or high expectation. It’s a transition, he is trying to implement a method with his own signing but also Wenger’s signings. This method will take time to be understood and it will be understood by the right players.
Really excited to see how Summer 2019 goes for Emery in terms of signings - with Monchi in hopefully, players with big wages out, he will
have a real platform to sign the players that suit his style.
Goes to show that the board at the time didn’t have a name for a manager they could all decide on however proceeded to make signing(s) that would steady the ship in the transition from Wenger’s tenure to the next manager. Lich is the polar opposite of what an Emery fullback needs to be and we’ve really taken a hit with Bellerin’s injury. The implications of that are huge, because we’re now reliant on left-sided overloads which become very predictable.
The earlier games of the season, we looked rampant. Fast forward to now, we’ve lost key players along the way and have resulted to starting both our star forwards in order make the most of any goal scoring opportunities. It’s frustrating to watch. I think Unai’s hands are tied at this point and we’re literally just trying to cobble together as much points as possible that hopefully is enough to cling on to a top 4 spot at the end of the season. It’s looking ridiculously tight though.
I just hope he’s given the means to sign (or at least profile the kind of player he wants to RRRaul) before/during the summer.
45 points, 5 off 4th spot which was Chelsea with 50 points. 
Ooooh, Luca already done that fml.
It’s funny and all to say that Emery has spent all this money on defensive acquisitions but truth of the matter is, Emery’s only signing so far has probably been Denis.
Licht and Sokratis were players our board has been looking for a while now and pulled the trigger because we ‘wanted experience’ at the back. Leno was the only financially pragmatic GK in the market that was good and young enough. Guendouzi was always gonna come here after being scouted by Grimandi. Emery at best gave his OK, but let’s be honest, he was in no position to say “No, I want this instead”. Even when he wanted N’Zonzi we gave him Guendouzi. The only skepticism I have is regarding Torreira but I think the N’zonzi and Banega links also eliminate him as an Emery signing.
It would be interesting to see the Emery-board relationship this summer and how much input he will have. For all we know, Denis could also be a coincidence.
Can you stand by this after your comments on the spuds today.
The timing of this tweet 
GIVE THAT ADMIN A RAISE
Have I missed something?
Chelsea losing 6-0 meaning we stay in 5th
It’s even better though; we don’t stay 5th, we move into 5th 
Did we not go 5th yesterday when we beat Huddersfield?
Spurs have been more lucky than us recently, tbh. Never seen a team without 2 of their best players grinding out wins in that way.
That would be the luck evening itself out then. They were unlucky to lose to united.
No we were still 6th on GD, Chelsea had to lose by six for us to go above them today and they went and did the trick
Ah thought it was they had to lose by 6 for us to keep 5th!
BBC sport has us 5th.
Long essay, but thought I’d write this after reading the discussion in the Wenger thread.
I was on board with his appointment to start with, thinking he’d be able to bring stability in defence and tactical nous. But the more I see of him, the more I feel that we won’t go anywhere during his stint. I feel this season we’ve gone backwards rather than stabilizing or marginally improving.
Despite his reputation as a cup manager, we’ve been dumped out at home in the domestic cup competitions and can see the same results the moment we get a tough draw in the EL.
My biggest problem with him is even after 6 months in the job, he has been unable to find any semblance of a distinctive style. More concerning is that he hasn’t even found a system. This is think will be his biggest downfall come the end of his stint. When Wenger left, I had hoped that we’d find a balance between trying to play the Arsenal way and occasionally tweaking the approach in games where the opposition is superior and won’t let us dictate the style of play. This in a way is the downfall of managers like Wenger and Sarri who insist on wanting to play one way and want to outplay every opposition despite not have the men to do that. Emrey is the polar opposite of this where he looks to adapt his team to every opposition, even in situations where he clearly has the superior team and can impose a style of play.
And even when he sets up as per the opposition, it’s not that he often gets it right. The number of formation and personal tweaks mid game and often at half time is an indicator of this.
I hope I am wrong, but this stint isn’t going to be a successful one and even after a couple of seasons I can only see us on the fringes of top 4.
After Wenger left, we need someone to come in and make us more solid and aware, whereas Unai has come in and seems intent on making us into a Seville. He’s far too indecisive to be a successful top lever manager.