Arsenal lost their first two games of the season against Sarri's Chelsea and Pep's Manchester City, two teams that are in realistic contentions to win the league this season. Since those two defeats Arsenal has won 7 straight matches in all competitions, they went undefeated for the month of September. Arsenal are in good hands.
I had a few friends, Arsenal supporters, ask me about Unai Emery. I responded with a stereotypical safe answer "That he is a good coach and will play more structured than his predecessor, Wenger. To expect more emphasis on wins and points over style." I was asked, I am assuming, because most of my inner soccer circles know that I support the Spanish club Valencia, and wondered who Emery really was. I reassured them that he is good coach that can work within limits and punch above his team's weight every season.
A quick Recap on Emery's career, he started coaching Almeria who he took to the first division in Spain and finished in the top 10 the following season. Valencia hired him as the club needed fresh ideas and a coach that would not burden their already dire financial situation. In his four seasons leading the helm in Valencia Emery finished 3rd three times following a 6th place finished in his first season.
Why does this matter? Because there a similarities that might bring hope to Arsenal fans. Take a historical note for some context, when Emery was in charge of Valencia for those four years (2008-2012) it was during Pep's dominance with Barcelona and Real Madrid's acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo. This means that Emery with a cash restricted budget and forced to sell players such as David Villa, David Silva, and Mata guided Los Che to win the "other league"- the Spanish Media dubbed the 3rd place team as the "other winner" due to Barcelona and Real Madrid's dominance.
The similarities I see with Arsenal are clearly mental fabrications with the only focal point being Unai Emery, but humor me. The English Premier league at the moment has two really good sides in Pep's Manchester City and Klopp's Liverpool, with Sarri at Chelsea having a really good start to the season as well. But the first two are the one's who have had time to mold their team and anything less than winning the league will be considered a failure. Where does this leave Arsenal? Well to Emery, in a very familiar situation.
I am not disregarding Emery's other past work, in fact he replicated his understanding of coaching in La Liga when he returned from a horrible Stint in Russia to lead Sevilla to Europa League dominance while finishing in the top 5 in two of his three full seasons in charge. His time at Paris Saint-Germain is what probably exposed him to the rest of the footballing community that didn't follow La Liga aside from Barcelona and Real Madrid. I considered his time at PSG as an enigma due to the ridiculous expectations of a club attempting to splash their way to a Champions league with no real soccer foundation to sustain it.
Arsenal will definitely not go undefeated for the rest of the year, but I wont be surprised if they can clinch a top 4 finish. At the start of the season, I was excited for the English Premier league more than usual due to the top 6 teams' managers. Pep at Manchester City, Klopp at Liverpool, Sarri at Chelsea, Pochettino at Tottenham, and Mourinho at Manchester United. In my mind Emery at Arsenal was the biggest improvement in relative terms as I consider him a top manager.
Unai Emery doesn't have the budget restrictions at Arsenal he has had in Spain or the over the top expectations implemented at PSG. He acquired two young center midfielders that fit his approach to the game. Lucas Torreira and Matteo Guendouzi, who will work hard in the midfield of the pitch and that is what Emery wants. Emery is meticulous in his approach to managing the game and expects his team to work just as hard. With this approach Arsenal may not be the same free flowing stylistic team most fans associate with the badge, but they will be in the top 4 competing every year Emery is in charge.
I know this may not be good enough for some Arsenal fans, but believe me when I say, it is better to have a ship navigated by a captain that can complete the voyage than a captain that will sink that ship to the depths of the ocean pretending to know where shore lies. Still not good enough? (Please see Manchester United.)
Tuesday, October 9, 2018
Tuesday, October 2, 2018
The Old Trafford woes continue
Manchester United and the Spanish side Valencia finished in a 0-0 draw. The red devils hosted the match, which their bus happen to be late arriving to, at Old Trafford. Either side could have taken 3 points, but at the end of the match a draw was what both teams could muster and deservedly so. Valencia in the first half attacked down the left flank with the Guedes and Gaya connection, but wasted plenty of crosses and build up play for the majority of the match.
Manchester United did not have a clear idea when it came to the attack, relying heavily on the long ball. Their most dangerous moments seemed to come via dead ball, whether it be from a corner or free kick. Pogba did what he could to deliver dangerous and effective passes, but the team as a whole seemed out of sync. So much that I forgot Alexis Sanchez was on the pitch.
Neto, the Valencia goalkeeper had a decent night with a few saves for the night. I enjoy the center back pairing between the Argentine, Garay, and the Brazilian, Paulista. I think when fit that is the best defensive pairing for Los Che. Garay was solid winning long balls in the air and putting his body in front of the ball to prevent any Manchester United player shot from reaching his Keeper.
Gaya, the left back, had an excellent game on both ends. Completed his defensive duties as well as timing his runs forward effectively overlapping Guedes where the two seem to play well off one another. Guedes had a mediocre game for his standards. From what I saw last year, this looked like Guedes has some preseason rust on him still, but was the most threatening player on the pitch for both teams when it came to attack in open play.
As a whole the Valencia side were much better in the build up attack and noticeably had a plan on moving the ball forward and attempted to control the midfield via passing than using the long ball approach. But, overall the team was wasteful in the final aspect of the attack. plenty of crosses from beautiful build up wasted. However, this Valencia side looked better than the way they started this season's campaign. If this can build off this performance moving forward they can easily challenge for a spot in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League tournament. At the end of the day a point at Old Trafford is not a bad result even given how poor the home side's form as been.
Manchester United did not have a clear idea when it came to the attack, relying heavily on the long ball. Their most dangerous moments seemed to come via dead ball, whether it be from a corner or free kick. Pogba did what he could to deliver dangerous and effective passes, but the team as a whole seemed out of sync. So much that I forgot Alexis Sanchez was on the pitch.
Neto, the Valencia goalkeeper had a decent night with a few saves for the night. I enjoy the center back pairing between the Argentine, Garay, and the Brazilian, Paulista. I think when fit that is the best defensive pairing for Los Che. Garay was solid winning long balls in the air and putting his body in front of the ball to prevent any Manchester United player shot from reaching his Keeper.
Gaya, the left back, had an excellent game on both ends. Completed his defensive duties as well as timing his runs forward effectively overlapping Guedes where the two seem to play well off one another. Guedes had a mediocre game for his standards. From what I saw last year, this looked like Guedes has some preseason rust on him still, but was the most threatening player on the pitch for both teams when it came to attack in open play.
As a whole the Valencia side were much better in the build up attack and noticeably had a plan on moving the ball forward and attempted to control the midfield via passing than using the long ball approach. But, overall the team was wasteful in the final aspect of the attack. plenty of crosses from beautiful build up wasted. However, this Valencia side looked better than the way they started this season's campaign. If this can build off this performance moving forward they can easily challenge for a spot in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League tournament. At the end of the day a point at Old Trafford is not a bad result even given how poor the home side's form as been.
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