Unai Emery went on the record with an interview from yesteryear, leaning hard into a garbled narrative of someone looking to deflect attention away from the obvious: Things are getting worse.
“At Arsenal it’s maybe the first time I feel that I have the support to build up from the bottom in order to get where we want to be.
“That allows us to work more for the long term and supports the kind of work we want to do here. After my experiences in Spain, Russia and France, I believe that people at Arsenal see football from the heart in a very distinct way.
“The question of whether you win, lose or draw is still important but there is always a respect for the football beyond the result.”
“That means you can do a more progressive job building the club without thinking only about results, because sometimes a result can hide solid foundations.”
The Sun ran two puff pieces that were no doubt arranged by the club. The way PR defence works in football is very simple. A well-read tabloid is offered an exclusive with someone who will drive clicks and hard copy purchases. The interview is conducted by a friendly ear who will usually ask predetermined questions. This allows a professionally crafted narrative to be spoonfed to fans with all the relevant buzzwords that make people feel good about something shite. Remember, fans are not pragmatic, they are hopeful, they want to be optimistic. Arsenal are experts in feeding hope.
Step 2: A chief sports writer will drop an ‘opinion piece’ follow-up that sympathises with the said narrative as part of the deal. (here)
Emery essentially told the world that Arsenal is a little different to his previous clubs because they don’t put pressure on him to win. Which is exactly the opposite reason he was hired. He was supposed to bring an elite shift in mentality to a squad of pampered children. Here’s what said when he was hired.
Big players. Big ambition.
“This team is a big team, with big players, and we think we need to change little things – a few players.”
“The target is to be a candidate and to challenge for the title. It is very important for the club, after two years outside the Champions League, to work this way, to be the best club, the best team in the Premier League and also in the world.”
A focus on better attack.
“I want to create a team that know how to exploit the space, are able to counter-attack, or when there’s no space, calmly find a way to create openings. We are in that process: create an idea, a style, be competitive. We came to an Arsenal that hadn’t beaten any of the Top 6, and while we still haven’t done so yet, they also struggled to win away from home at all, and we have already improved in that area.”
Better defence.
‘You can only take care of technique and attacking freedom, losing your defensive structure. What I want to do is unite the two and become more competitive. Arsenal were falling. We had to stop that and start to lift them.’
A gym a smidge closer to the training pitch.
‘Only little details like putting a gym next to the pitch to make the transition from gym to pitch easier. Purely methodology. The same idea remains as before.’
Less juice for men who consume 4000 calories a day.
‘Together with the nutritionist and the fitness coach, we decided to get rid of juice with sugar, but that’s normal and what I do at home: eat without sugar, less fat, healthier food. That’s it.’
The foundations he referenced have gotten weaker across the board. The defence is porous, there’s no creativity, and the style is absolutely drab. Oddly, the gym and juice move appears to have worked against overall fitness.
I think Emery cottoned onto the mess he was creating for himself halfway through and tried to rescue things with a garbled stab at how he might get fired.
“As a manager, I have always put myself under the pressure of the necessity to win.
“You know that winning allows you to either continue what you are doing or find another project.
This is not what we signed up for. We were supposed to push for top 4, now we’re making excuses, and telling the world there’s more to Arsenal than winning. What was the point in sacking Wenger if the plan was another long-term transition where we’d excuse failure?
Sarri moved to Chelsea, a team that played 5 at the back for two years, before that they played under Mourinho, both offered drab pragmatic football. Sarri installed a style by October. Is it perfect? No. Can you see where it’s going? Yes.
Bielsa, a bat shit crazy manager, took an uninteresting directionless team from 7th, to 1st, playing the most outrageous and joyous football Leeds fans have ever seen (that from my Leeds supporting uncle (away days levels of fandom)). Sure, they have a big wage bill, but so do Arsenal.
You can compare Emery’s record to Poch, Klopp and Guardiola… but that’s spreadsheet analysis. Use your eyes. What do you see? A club on a path to better? Or a club regressing under a manager who looks out of ideas?
The manager continues to look inconsistent and indecisive on and off the pitch. After freezing Mesut Ozil out in the hope he’d leave, he’s now decided the give him another go. Here’s what he had to say:
“With Mesut it’s the same. He didn’t play the last matches but to me he’s just like any other player. This Saturday he can be with us if he’s OK. Now? He’s training consistently with his work over the past two weeks and I think he can be.”
This, paired with Ornstein’s chatter on the player makes for good reading.
“He has no desire to leave, Mesut Ozil, so he won’t be leaving in the January transfer window. I’m told he’s working extremely hard to get himself fit. Reports coming out of London Colney is that he’s now doing extra gym work and he has a positive demeanour. He’s determined to work his way back into the side.
“The word was he wasn’t doing a lot of the extra work most players were, and he is now. I’ve heard positive things about his behaviour, his commitment, his relationships with the teammates.
Commendable he’s now giving him another chance, but the whole episode reads like an ego-driven attempt at commanding respect. I also feel like bringing Mesut back at the weekend against Chelsea is as bad as dropping Ramsey into the starting line-up against Liverpool. It looks like a preplanned scapegoat move.
Anyway, it’s clear he’s been burned by his experience at PSG where he was bullied into handing over power to Neymar so he could stay in his job. This was penned last year by the GFFN folk for the Guardian.
‘Neymar demanding to be the centre of attention is hardly surprising but Emery’s passivity and his eventual solution of allowing the players to sort out the disagreement between themselves only played into the culture of player power. There is no fear of rebuke for poor displays or selfishness as a significant chunk of the first team will be picked no matter what. As a result PSG lack any semblance of rigour or discipline and players dally in possession and struggle to find any intensity.’
This is Mourinho on young people.
How the new breed of footballers differ from those of previous generations.#beINMourinho #beINAFC #AsianCup2019 pic.twitter.com/aroOGBVREb
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) January 17, 2019
A lot of Arsenal fans dismiss the idea that Emery can be critiqued for his time at PSG, but I’d disagree. You need to work out a way of dealing with big names if you’re an elite coach (Enrique did, despite massive issues with Messi at the start). Communication is a massive part of any job. Young people expect to be able to communicate with their managers. They don’t believe in hierarchy. They have grown up in an access culture. You have to show love and as Mourinho said, ‘share power.’
Peak Mourinho lambasted Drogba in his prime for meeting Milan behind his back.
‘OK, seeing as we are not kids we are going to talk.
“I trusted you – I’ve done everything for you and there you are telling me you’re going to the dentist in Paris when in fact you’re in Milan talking over your transfer.
“You lied to me. You didn’t keep your word. Have you been badly brought up or what?”
He benched him for a bit, brought him in from the cold, then watched a 34 goal season unfold. Jose knew how to deal with huge egos. The man had so much sauce in his prime. We need some of that. Think about it, our two best players are our freshest. A helluva weapon going into the next 5 months if we can make it work.
Back to the original interview.
The PR team at Arsenal need to understand that their strategies of appeasement won’t be tolerated by fans in the new era. There is no bond with Emery. Long-term plans and painful transitions won’t be tolerated unless there is clear progress on the pitch. That interview was a disaster. We cannot fall into the doomed trap of ‘more money’ being the requirement for progress when Spurs are ahead of us in the league after spending ZERO this summer, and we’re being out-defended by Palace, Brighton, Newcastle, Leicester, Wolves and Everton.
We hired a coach, time for him to start delivering. If not, we should find someone new in the summer. Simple as that.
Don’t fall for the dark arts of the Arsenal PR machine. We are better than that.
P.S. This is how you run a football club when you don’t have a sugar daddy. (LINK)
“Bamford, Jack is a much better footballer than Xhaka. He just didn’t have the fitness.”
Part of being a good footballer is being fit.
Phd 2020 I do not want to persist in the political discussion, but please stop being selective in analysing what I said. I made the case that I would expect the majority of Parliament to be well educated i.e. to have a good tertiary degree level. Also I made the point that our political representatives should have a career background outside politics. What I went on to suggest was that when you look at the Labour Party far too many of them do not have much career expertise outside politics, public sector or trade union jobs. The best example of… Read more »
Un nai,
Some good recentish films,
Wolf of wall street is hilarious and interstellar is a beautiful deep film.
The maze runner films are good and I also love the Avengers, Thor, marvel films, and wonder woman; she’s smoking.
Hey Bamford how is the sun worshiping going these days?
In what world is Jack better than Xhaka? And I don’t even like Xhaka.
Marko,
You’re joking right? On his day Wilshire is 10X the player Xhaka is, it’s just a shame his terrible injury record prevented him from ever reaching his full potential.
He benched him for a bit, brought him in from the cold, then watched a 34 goal season unfold. Jose knew how to deal with huge egos. The man had so much sauce in his prime. We need some of that. Think about it, our two best players are our freshest. A helluva weapon going into the next 5 months if we can make it work.
Yeah same style with Pogba right?
Bernd Leno, Sokratis, Lichsteiner, Torreira, Guendouzi, ALL part of the post Wenger…all part of the new management….when are we just gonna focus on what we are being serverd? Can we just focus on the club heirachy? post Gazidis ??? Cause the common denomination to the decline is KSE….
PhD2020January 17, 2019 13:51:08 EmiratesstrollerJanuary 17, 2019 11:26:26 Many have very limited education and virtually none have any expertise or serious business or professional backgrounds outside politics, trade unions or public sector.No-one suggests that the entire parliamentary system needs to go to University, but at least I would hope that a solid nucleus have done so and managed to at least attend a first division university or at least studied a worthwhile subject. If Corbyn is elected Prime Minister he becomes the first in modern times without a Degree. —————-Wrong,wrong,wrong…John Major left school with 6 O’levels ….He wasn’t university educated… Read more »
bennydevitoJanuary 18, 2019 21:47:33 Un nai,I’ve just gone over yesterday’s comments and what PhD has just said to you is correct I’m afraid even though I think his inference of vote to remain and having a degree was the correct decision thus more intelligent extremely condescending he was going by statistics.Fair’s fair and all. —————————————- Sigh..Don’t you also start,with me making the inference about “Voting to REMAIN and having a degree was the correct decision” hence more intelligent scenario nonsense. Cite that claim?Find it and prove it..My comment is below: I simply highlighted a breakdown of how the UK electorate… Read more »
PhD
Did you not think it necessary to check your posts before making false claims?
It’s there in black and white you said stroller was the last of a dying breed
You also posted statistics that refute your own claim shortly after. 🙄😂
So the gyst of your argumet is, I’m a thick chav. That’s all you’ve got only dressed up in a word salad. You’re wrong on everything else.
Along the lines of education,70% of the electorate whose highest educational achievements were only GCSE or lower voted to leave,while 68% of voters with a university degree voted to REMAIN.Those with A levels and no degree were evenly split 50%-50%. PhD For a smart bloke you aren’t half a bit dim Why do you think that is? Whose jobs were affected most by cheap imported Labour? Working class. It’s got nothing to do with education and everything to do with whose lives have been negatively impacted by us having EU membership. Let it sink in for a bit because you… Read more »
Pedro One, I have always defended Wilshere against those here who claim he was overrated or that he had “one good game”. Wilshere was excellent, and it’s a shame that various things got in the way of his proper progress as a player. And I agree that when he was fit he was a better footballer than Xhaka. Much better, actually. However, I also recognized some time ago that Wilshere was crocked and that he was done at the highest level. This was obvious to anyone with eyes. Two, calling someone out for his bad takes isn’t making things “personal”.… Read more »
Un na naaiJanuary 18, 2019 22:13:37
You clearly have to visit your local GP.Highlight your assortment of maladies.A questionable and bloody arsehole being one of them.
All the best.
PS
Others can clearly read and deduce for themselves.Something absent in your makeup.
Oh for the days when we broke transfer records between UK clubs. Mel Charles and Alan Ball, to name two. As of today, we cannot afford to buy anyone! How much lower can we fall? I never thought that, at my advanced age, I would ever feel so ashamed and desolate over what has happened to our wonderful club. The Queen should rip out the Emirates plaque and lock up all the people still living who are responsible for this state of affairs. It really isn’t funny.
Benny
Seen them all mate
Started working my way through foreign thrillers as it’s an untapped market
Watch I saw the devil
Korean film on par with Oldboy for me. Absolutely terrific and a massive example of what Hollywood should be doing instead of the guff they put out these days
Wolf of Wall Street and insterstellar are two of my favorite films of all time.
You clearly have to visit your local GP.Highlight your assortment of maladies.A questionable and bloody arsehole being one of the
I’m on it. Thanks for your concern though you wanker. So much for egalitarian. All hull shit with you virtue signaling lefties.
Like I said. I doubt much of your salary makes it to the needy.
Bam
Don’t worry
None taken.
Talking about his nationality, or his job, or his education, or his intelligence
American Harvard educated teacher who is seemingly of average to very slightly above average intelligence, but still not nearly as smart as he thinks he is…I guess that’s personal but I don’t see what’s so wrong with what I said.
See you on Sunset Beach, lover 😉
PhD
Just admit that you either lied or you forgot. It’s ok to be wrong and it’s ok to have a thick Chav prove you wrong.
Suck it up buttercup.
Sancho
Meow
I don’t get how Wilshere can be 10x the player Xhaka is when he hasn’t influenced a game in 4-7 years. Lad is the most overhyped player of the last decade.
Wilshere and Xhaka are both shit.
On another note, isn’t it odd that Wenger hasn’t taken the reign elsewhere by now?
Says you
Harry Kane isn’t world class
Neymar gate
Psg More prestigious than united
Blaming Wenger for losing fa cup ties when gg was still manager.
Hardly a blemish free track record there
Now let’s call what I’ve got wrong
I said holding was our best defender-correct
Said Ramsey and ozil should be sold. Was correct
Said Leno is not good enough- correct
The only thing anyone has on me is jack Wilshere and you actually agree with me that he’s an extremely talented midfielder.
Marko
That’s your Irish bitterness showing. Anyone who knows football can look at wilshere play and see how talented he is.
“The Queen should rip out the Emirates plaque and lock up all the people still living who are responsible for this state of affairs. It really isn’t funny.“
We could ask Prince Philip to drive Kroenke to the airport…
Absolutely Moray.
I always thought it was Wenger that dithered in the market and it was the reason that we were always slow at buying players.
What’s the excuse now.?
Being owned by Stan Kronke is destroying our club.
We used to have class
The statistics show that since the summer of 2011, Arsenal have a net spend on permanent transfer fees of £239.9m, which works out at £30m per season. Since the summer of 2013, when Gazidis talked the talk and the shackles came off, it has been £265.8m or £44.3m per season. In other words, not enough to buy a Kyle Walker and significantly short of a Virgil van Dijk.
The guardian writes
£30m a season since kroenke came in.
PhD, I was concurring what you said to Un nai but the fact remains and is very clear to all that by you saying the majority of people who have degrees voted to remain and those that don’t voted to leave, then saying it’s no surprise un nai and his chavvy mates voted to leave is clearly you trying to insult him and inferring that voting to leave was unintelligent and the wrong thing! You can deny it all you like but you’re a class snob, your very name of PhD says it all like you think you’re superior! As… Read more »
Un na naaiJanuary 18, 2019 22:29:44 PhDJust admit that you either lied or you forgot. It’s ok to be wrong and it’s ok to have a thick Chav prove you wrong. —————— Hmmm…Let’s see,who lied,is now spinning and is constantly trying to change the narrative,in order to salvage any last vestige/shred of credibility. -Un na naaiJanuary 17, 2019 16:32:24 Also made comments about chavs voting leave and university educated people being better qualified to go into politics.All highly condescending claims if you’ll excuse me for pointing out. —————————– 1)Clearly a lie by yourself,couldn’t substantiate your assertions 24 hours later.Only thing… Read more »
bennydevitoJanuary 18, 2019 23:07:24
Okay ,Farmer Giles.You are entitled to your opinion.I’m entitled to mine.But you couldn’t be so further from the truth,with regards to me being a class snob.Far from it.
Frankly I don’t care for your opinions,and I’m certainly not going to spend my Friday night getting into a tete -a-tete with a Farmer Giles without a tractor from the South West of England. 🙂
Have a good weekend.
PhD
You’re stupid
You are actually stupid and a liar.
I’ve just cut and pasted your comments where you clearly said that stroller was the last of a dying breed
Look up stupid ☝️
You haven’t countered one of my points
You’ve just lied
Bamford10January 18, 2019 22:18:31 Two, calling someone out for his bad takes isn’t making things “personal”. Talking about his nationality, or his job, or his education, or his intelligence — that’s making things personal. Criticizing him for his views is just criticizing his views. ———— Not,that I’m trying to start something here,or instigate a back and forth with you. But you have in the past,called people”Dumb shits” for their views, along with calling people out on their grammatical errors.In addition to questioning whether they can read and calling them c**ts. If that’s not getting personal,what would you call it? Just… Read more »
That said,I’m elitist in that regard,as it’s about standards.The more prestigious the university(in terms of ranking),the better the quality of education.Like anything in life,you get what you pay for.You are last of a dying breed I am afraid,with your antiquated views.
☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️☝️
Un Naai
You are an embarrassment.Beyond help.
Night chav.
Un na naaiJanuary 17, 2019 18:41:11
PhD
Mate You look down your nose at brexit voters and the great unwashed
————-
2) Another lie,nothing I said in any of my posts supports your spurious claim.
PhD
No it’s my opinion. You can’t probe otherwise to me and your comments would suggest I’m right here
PhD
You mean you’ve just realised what an idiot you’ve made of yourself and have nothing left to say???
You’re the last of a dying breed PhD. Now get some sleep. Polo and croquet in the morning what what
PhD
Actually, my insult of choice was “dipshit,” not “dumbshit,” and I only use the former to describe Wenger now as I decided some time ago that I had been a bit of a jerk in the past and that I needed to be a little nicer.
Regardless, people insult each other all of the time on here, so pointing out that I threw around an insult or two isn’t much of a point.
The rest of what you’ve said is meaningless. None of that is personal. Sorry.
The rest of what you’ve said is meaningless. None of that is personal. Sorry.
Bamford
Seems to be a theme. He just word salads his way around a point without ever actually making one
Desperate actions of a desperate man,clinging onto any crumb,in order to have one ounce/chance of survival.Hopefully you don’t choke on that crumb.Enjoy chav.
Night. 🙂
Don you should always just assume that you are wrong (in the wrong).
Bamford10January 19, 2019 00:00:34
PhDActually, my insult of choice was “dipshit,” not “dumbshit,” and I only use the former to describe Wenger now as I decided some time ago that I had been a bit of a jerk in the past and that I needed to be a little nicer.
—–
Fair point.Have a good evening/day.
MarkoJanuary 19, 2019 00:07:41
Don you should always just assume that you are wrong (in the wrong).
————
Yep, a wrong ‘un.
Marko
Wow. Never had you down as a little anus licker, shit breath!!
I’m glad Kiyoshi/PhD is back and posting regularly again, he certainly makes things more lively.
UEFA have published on Friday the latest revenues of top 10 Clubs in Europe.
1. Man Utd EUR 676 MILLION
2.Real Mad EUR 675 MILLION
3.Barcelona EUR 649 MILLION
4.Bayern Mun EUR 588 MILLION
5.Man City EUR 558 MILLION
6.PSG EUR 503 MILLION
7.Arsenal EUR 490 MILLION
8.Liverpool EUR 428 MILLION
9.Chelsea EUR 420 MILLION
10.Juventus EUR 412 MILLION
Clearly Arsenal not as impoverished as some might think but of course well
short of Man Utd.
Bamford
You seem agitated my American friend . Why?
Perhaps the sunny uplands of the post wenger era seem a distant dream.
Why do you think that is?
UEFA published also revenue growth rate in 2017
1. Man Utd -2%
2.Real Madrid +9%
3.Barcelona +5%
4.Bayern -1%
5. Man City +5%
6.PSG +2%
7.Arsenal +3%
8.Liverpool +5%
9.Chelsea +5%
10.Juventus +21%
Wilshere being remembered fondly by some on here like we all have collective amnesia. This is a player that cant run, cant shoot cant do anything except attempt 3 dribbles each time he gets the ball. Always gets dispossessed after the 2nd dribble and will sit on his arse pleading with the ref, while the opposition is streaming to our goal. Shit player, permacrock. Next we will be hearing how brilliant Walcott was for us
Un na naaiJanuary 19, 2019 00:00:32
You’re the last of a dying breed PhD. Now get some sleep. Polo and croquet in the morning what what
—————————
And I guess-Ketamine and Diamond White Cider for you at sunrise? Followed by possibly smashing a few house windows in of elite leftist’s?
Night. 🙂
PhD,
The fact that you’ve resorted to trying to insult me by using a,stereotype of being a farmer just because I’m from the southwest is fucking priceless and shows how much I’ve rattled your cage and absolutely owned you.
You them compound your your obliteration by calling Un nai a chav.
You got schooled son!
🤣🤣🤣🤣 😎😎
And how do you know if I have a tractor or not? And what a weird, bizarre little insult. 😂
UnDon
Do some research on these movies to find what would suit you:
https://www.imdb.com/chart/moviemeter?ref_=pe_3465290_386501470
China1
A mate sent me this while I still had interests in a video production company.
Thought the drone work was good.
https://player.vimeo.com/video/107995891
UnDon
Old inspiration movie but well worth watching.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0274468/
bennydevitoJanuary 19, 2019 02:33:08 PhD,The fact that you’ve resorted to trying to insult me by using a,stereotype of being a farmer just because I’m from the southwest is fucking priceless and shows how much I’ve rattled your cage and absolutely owned you. ————- Not at all…You certainly haven’t rattled my cage.Far from it.Seems,I’ve rattled yours. And if you really want to go down that road-“Farmer Giles” with possibly an EU funded tractor,you shot the first arrow in my direction yesterday,by insinuating according to you that I was a top class snob.And should shove it up my poppycock arse.Without clearly reading… Read more »
PhD nice to see you back. fighting the good fight. 🤭
I’ll leave that to the likes of the” South West of UK” inbred rural farmers
This had me in stitches.
Anyway prediction time?
Lose 4-2. Defence will crumble as always.
Auba
3 to 1 arsenal
GoH For the people who continue to snub their noses at Arteta…personally I do not think Mikel would have been doing a worse job. Maybe not ‘better’ but not worse and I guarantee the football would have been more pulsating. So how have you come to the conclusion that football under arteta would have been more pulsating. Has he managed a single game of football to draw that conclusion ? even as a player, he wasn’t exactly an exciting player. All he did was simple forward or side ways passes. Racked up the assists at Everton by taking every corner… Read more »
honestly can’t see how we can win today. If anyone is holding hope that ozil will show up and win us the game should know that
1. That isn’t ozils style of play.
2. You are naive af
3. I know a Nigerian Prince who wants to put 5 million pounds in your bank account.
Gons
Chelsea can be beaten. The problem is will our attackers take their opportunities?
And if they take their opportunities, will we keep them out on the other end? There in lies the problem. Willian and Hazard can hurt us today.
Nothing priceless about it
Just shows that PhD is a liar who cannot remember simple posts from the previous evening and a man who cannot unpack his own statistics.
What do you have a PhD in PhD?? Lady GaGa songs?
As opposed to one that welcomes and embraces international talent from around the world,that helps and enhances the economy multi -fold.And doesn’t try to bite the hand that feeds it.
PhD baseless rhetoric
The majority of labour that comes in through the Eu or from outside it is low skilled. Not doctors and lawyers. Spin and lies.
I’m going to put my neck out and say we win 2-1 today.
Hello I am a new poster here but I have been reading legrove for quite some time going 6years now.I regret that my first ever comment will involve calling out Pedro with his routine ,’I know things you don’t know’ or ‘I speak to people behind the scenes’ takedowns on some guys.He kept saying the same things when people here were saying how he is a trash guy.Pedro used to defend him with thesee same quips and look how it turned out.We all know he wanted arteta and was only waiting for a mini crisis(which are normal in a rebuilding… Read more »