5 problems Unai Emery needs to solve as Arsenal manager
By James Dudko
1. Preparation
Arsenal’s record against the big boys of Europe and the Premier League was downright dreadful during the dog-end of Wenger’s otherwise glorious tenure.
The Gunners found themselves routinely overpowered by marquee squads prepared to be cagey, as well as ruthless on the break. A lack of adequate preparation was a criticism often levied at Wenger and his staff during this time.
Such a critique wouldn’t stick to Emery, though.
Detailed preparation, mostly involving film study, has been a signature of Emery’s management. BT Sport’s Adam Summerton has detailed the lengths the 46-year-old has gone to in order to give his players the full picture:
Emery does all his own video analysis and, during his time at Valencia, gave players USB sticks to watch tactical clips on. He suspected one player never watched them, so gave him a blank USB and then asked him what he’d make of the clips #afc
— Adam Summerton (@adamsummerton) May 21, 2018
Back in 2015, Emery stressed the importance of referring to the tape, during an interview with the Guardian‘s Sid Lowe:
"For every game I might have spent 12 hours just on the video. Videos are very important. We work hard so that they have the best information and it has to be a good video: in an hour the players have to understand everything you’ve seen in 12."
This habit shows a striking similarity between Emery and Wenger, who was also known to obsess over endless viewings of matches, even when he was not focused on Arsenal.
Yet while Wenger was a proactive manager who wanted his teams to impose their own will and style on the opposition, Emery appears more deliberate.
The latter’s jones for the minutiae will represent a seismic shift for the Gunners, according to French football writer Matt Spiro:
Emery a huge change from Wenger in terms of tactical work and meticulous planning. Life on Arsenal training ground about to change significantly
— Matt Spiro (@mattspiro) May 21, 2018
It’s not to say Emery’s record against big teams is impeccable. High-profile defeats to Barcelona and Real Madrid in the Champions League ultimately brought his time at PSG to an abrupt end.
Yet if Emery’s elaborate planning yields positive results in big games for Arsenal, the Gunners could make a quick return to the top four or enjoy some long overdue glory in Europe.