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The Emery effect

Roar Rookie
28th May, 2018
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Arsenal are on fire. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)
Roar Rookie
28th May, 2018
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Three-time Europa League winner with Sevilla Unai Emery has signed with Arsenal Football Club, after his contract at Paris Saint-Germain ended.

After 22 years, the Gunners have a new manager, but is it the same story all over again?

Let’s start with the positives. Emery is a proven winner. His three Europa League titles (two consecutive wins) were arguably his greatest achievement as a manager, while his ability to nurture and improve players is uncanny. He is also tactically astute.

So why might he not be the best fit for Arsenal?

The biggest factor going against Emery is his man management ability. His time at PSG was embroiled in controversy, as the likes of Neymar and Edinson Cavani were acting like petulant children. The penalty debacle against Dijon in January 2018 showcased as much, with Cavani having the opportunity to become PSG’s leading goal-scorer, overtaking Zlatan Ibrahimovic, but it was taken away by Neymar’s persistence in wanting to take the penalty even though they were already 7-0 up!

That wasn’t the first time we’ve seen an Emery-managed team show signs of discontent. He isn’t a calm, collected figure on the touch but rather a buzzing, energetic and jittery individual, which transmits to his players.

Even with the successes that came with managing Valencia by keeping them relevant among the Spanish elite, his teams still showed no restraint or control. In the 2015-16 season, his Sevilla team went an entire season without an away win, recording nine draws and ten defeats. For a team as fragile as Arsenal is right now, this doesn’t bode well.

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Ivan Gazidis, Arsenal’s CEO, promised a “bold” and “brave” decision when searching for Arsene Wenger’s successor and Mikel Arteta represented just that.

Arteta is an inexperienced manager but he makes up for that in an understanding of the legacy and heritage of the club. He is also currently under the tutelage of arguably the world’s best manager, Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

Arsenal’s biggest criticism of late has been their lack of leaders, with the current squad unable to cope when they go behind. Any player that displayed an ounce of leadership or passion eventually left the club – Alexis Sanchez, Robin Van Persie, Samir Nasri and Cesc Fabregas all moved on to bigger and better opportunities, with Nasri, Fabregas and Van Persie winning the Premier League (the former two on multiple occasions) elsewhere.

Jose Mourinho branded Arsene Wenger a “specialist in failure”, which epitomises Arsenal’s last decade.

Emery could yet be a resounding success for the Gunners. His handling and the faith shown in promoting Giovani Los Celso and Presnel Kimpembe during his time at PSG bodes well for the talented youth at Arsenal (Konstantinos Mavropanos will be salivating at the thought), as both players received international call ups for Argentina and France.

Arguably his best work came in improving David Silva and Juan Mata, who have both gone on to win the Premier League and Champions League respectively at Manchester City and Chelsea.

Emery has incredible ability at nurturing talent.

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