No man polarised opinion at Arsenal more than Arsene Wenger. After 24 years at the helm of the famous London club and a relationship that had well and truly soured over recent years, the Frenchman departed in May.
It appears three league titles and seven FA Cup trophies only buy so much credit with both fans and front office and Wenger’s final years in charge were somewhat uncomfortable to witness.
As all and sundry called for a change, the club persisted with what they knew and three FA Cup victories in the last five seasons probably kept the manager in work.
The league was a different story, with the fan-base growing increasingly frustrated with merely creditable finishes and the team’s failure to make a serious run at the title.
With new manager Unai Emery moving to the club after compiling French domestic trophies at will in his two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, there was a sense of rejuvenation in the air and the Gunners’ faithful could finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
Curiously, after just a fortnight of the season and with the Gunners sitting bottom after losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, there may have been some questioning whether the right change had been made.
In reality, any knee-jerk reaction to the slow start or an allusion to the dangers of the unknown devil as opposed to the well-known one that had become part of the furniture were misguided.
Both Manchester City and Chelsea have since shown their credentials and under a new man still applying his own methodology and structures at the club, Arsenal would take a little while to gel. Expecting them to jump from the gate and knock off two of the main title contenders in the opening eight days was far too fanciful.
(Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
However, it was still a nervy time for the fans, hoping that the Spaniard was indeed the future of the club and capable of producing results at Premier League level.
Since then, Emery looks to have answered those questions in spades. Wins against West Ham, Cardiff City, Newcastle, Everton, Watford and Fulham have the Londoners humming along and on an unmatched winning streak in the league.
Six on the trot now and with another winnable fixture against Leicester, the Gunners could move inside the top three if Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea do slip up.
Elsewhere in Matchday 8 action, Brighton grabbed a vital three points against a West Ham side who had ample chances to level or even win the match. Glen Murray was the hero for the Seagulls at a rocking Falmer Stadium with his fifth goal of the season.
Both desperate for points, Huddersfield and Burnley grappled to a one-all draw and Wolves, Bournemouth and Everton all secured three points away from home.
Still living the day-to-day reality of the drama that is Jose Mourinho, Manchester United secured a vital three-two win against Newcastle with only a 90th-minute winner keeping the manager’s head above water for now. .
(Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
The anticipated shootout between the top two didn’t evolve into the epic encounter for which many had hoped. It remained scoreless at Anfield as Liverpool stayed with Manchester City statistically, yet couldn’t find the net themselves.
Riyad Mahrez continued his shocking run of missed penalties when he failed to convert from the spot in the 86th minute. It will be the main talking point from the game, which says a lot about the remainder of the action, in which neither side clicked into high gear at any stage.
Next weekend’s round opens with a juicy clash between Chelsea and Manchester United at Stamford Bridge. With Manchester City and Liverpool appearing assured of the points against Burnley and Huddersfield respectably, the Blues will need to be wary of a disjointed yet still dangerous Red Devils outfit.
Glenn
Guest
Yeah, well, mate, sorry, but I certainly don't share your enthusiasm for self-congratulation about being one of the first to sink the boot in to Arsene Wenger. I prefer to remember him as the coach who took an underperforming, patchy Arsenal side and produced a once in a lifetime team whose brilliance and sublime skills will shine across the ages as one of the greatest Premier League and FA cup sides of all time. Every time I switch on the Premier League I think of Ray Parlour's strike against Chelsea in the FA Cup final. I recall sitting up into the early hours to see Sylvain Wiltord settle the win at Old Trafford which secured the Championship and the week-in, week-out poetry of Dennis Bergkamp and Thierry Henry. The power of Patrick Vierra and everyone in the team which went through an entire season undefeated. Not to mention the well managed transition from our beloved Highbury to the wonderful Emirates Stadium. Who cares if the sides he coached late in the day did not match the legends we had the privilege to witness a few years earlier? At some stage that was never going to happen year in and year out. In the Marble Halls of The Arsenal no coach stands taller or contributed more to its success. True Gunners will celebrate that for years to come and rightly forget the relentless negativity of the Wenger Out brigade. We now have a new coach and of course wish him well. He has his work cut out to emulate Wenger. God, I hope he can!
Adam Owsinski
Roar Rookie
100% agree I was Wenger out before it was cool. Unai has been a breath of a fresh air for my beloved Gunners. Arsenal has been shaken up on the field and in the locker room. Players like Iwobi, Bellerin, Welbeck and Mustafi look renewed. Last year I would have been happy if any of them left Arsenal, now I want to them to stay. Especially Iwobi and I was one of his fiercest critics. Imagine if Ox stayed.
Chancho
Roar Rookie
What many will say is that Arsenal SHOULD be putting away these sides, but what has impressed me about the recent wins, compared to the last couple of seasons under Wenger, the Gunners would have likely drawn or lost some of those that they should have won. This is a team that has a bit more fight in them now and could be developing that ruthless edge. I think this might come down to the improved fitness of the squad, apparently Emery is really big on this and is making sure they are match fit. I think the Arsenal board should have been more ready to move on when Leicester won the league. That was a perfect storm situation; United and Chelsea were in disarray with their management changes and it was Pelegrini's last season with City, and this was Arsenal's chance to take it yet they couldn't clinch the deal. What I will say is that Arsene did leave the club in a good position, list-wise. Offloading certain 'dead wood' players like Walcot and Oxlade-Chamberline (who I was actually a fan of) for a combined £60m, and the Sanchez swap with Mhikatarian looks to have benefited Arsenal more than United so far. Plus, you don't have to think back that far to when they didn't sell-off players like Arshavin who weren't even in the match day squad at £90k/week. Now, not all this is down to Arsene, but he had enough of a say in these matters. The Ramsey situation and him lifting his game following threats of not extending his contract, where they did the exact same with Wiltshire so he knows not to call their bluff. So I agree, Arsene's exit has been validated and I can even go as far as to say that the replacement extends that. They are probably a good centre back/DMF off of having a side that can challenge, but they can stay in the top 4 like this. Slightly off topic, and while I have been impressed with Emery, I have been VERY impressed with Sari - the turn around at Chelsea without significant player additions is quite a thing. But he's just going about it very quietly