Morning folks. It’s tough to know where to even start today. I’ve been banging the ‘Emery Out’ drum for some time now – since Sheffield United away – but it’s all feeling a little hollow.
On Monday I said on the GunnersTown radio show that 12 points out of four games was a minimum. Southampton have been on their knees, they are second from bottom in the league, they have one of the worst defences in the Premier League, their confidence was shot.
But step forward Unai Emery’s Arsenal. Got a team who can’t buy a win? We’ll help you out. Got players who look forlorn. We’ll put a metaphorical arm around them and give them hope. And that’s exactly what happened yesterday. Southampton turned up at The Emirates and basically had a go. They pressed high, they had an intensity, they had shot after shot – 21 to our 12 to be precise – and they came away with a point. And it’s a point they should probably be unhappy with because they had plenty of chances to put the game to bed – even when they were 2-1 up.
Arsenal were pathetic. The set up was pathetic from the start. Three at the back with wing backs at home. Against relegation-threatened Southampton.
Why?
Because Unai Emery is out of his depth, grasping at anything, afraid of every team and looking like he has no answer for any team we come up against. That’s one win in seven in the Premier League now. It’s the very definition of mid table mediocrity and as long as he remains in charge that’s the direction we’re going.
Emery’s press conference post game yesterday was pretty telling too. He’s not even trying to come up with stupid “we’re executing our game-plan” nonsense any more. All he gave us was “we have to do better” sound bites. It’s the words of a man who knows his time is up.
Everyone knows his time is up. Except the Arsenal board. The collective of Arsenal people who were so revered for their successful summer are now smashing their goodwill from the fans into a million pieces by their failure to act.
This was a game in which we hoped to get the swagger back. This was the sort of match that, dare I say it, was Arsène Wenger’s bread and butter. Earlier in the week I was talking about how a win would just paper over the cracks unless we showed some kind of performance. Well not only did we not get the win and three points, we also got another dire performance, with the opposition manager even commenting about how low our players are on confidence.
We have teams in the relegation zone coming to our home ground and exploiting our lack of belief.
It’s crazy.
And by not acting to put the manager out of his misery this administration are asleep at the wheel. We’ve just had a week where a loved and revered manager who had the goodwill of the fans lost his job at Tottenham after a shocking start to the season. Yet they are just a point behind us. One point. Yet our board do nothing and I read something this morning which said the current bird aren’t going to do anything until after the West Ham game in a few weeks.
Well I tell you this now for free: by then our hopes of top four will be dead in the water. The season will be a write off by then and all that will be left is a half empty Arsenal stadium with halftime and full time boos.
But as long as the money keeps coming in then Stan and Josh will be happy. Because paying off a complete failure of a manager is not something they want to countenance. Why change it when you can just get rid of him for nothing in the summer? That’ll be their thinking and if we don’t get Champions League football or don’t look like we’re going to get it, then what difference does it make binning him off now? That’s what they’ll think. We’re three points off 15th for Christ’s sake. We’ve become one of those teams that just scrabbles around in the middle of the division.
Top four hopes are already over. Leicester are 11 points clear of us. Chelski are 9 and they’ve already played City away yesterday. Next weekend they’ll probably be further away.
This season is done. It makes no sense to carry on with this manager. You might as well have a practice with Freddie because this season is done already. After 13 fucking games. It’s a disgrace.
I’ve dropped nearly 800 words already and haven’t even talked about the details of the game. Why though? You’ve heard the story before, you all know the script by now, this was just a different opponent.
Sorry – there’s little to be happy about when it comes to Arsenal right now – so I’ll catch you tomorrow.
Peace out.
A very sound assessment. I have been a suppoeter since 1963, season ticket holder since 1974 and the performance yesterday was one of the worse I have seen. The problem we gooners have is until the wretched Kroenke family sell we will be a middle of the table club, even contenders for relegation! They do not care and have done nothing positive.
Raul is finding it difficult to say adios to his countryman.
that’s why I watched Tottenham game yesterday becos I need to see magic out of a change if any….guess what? Was a win for the … A dumped #arsBord
Stingy arsenalBoard
I know what the board of arsenal is waiting to sack Emery
http://chng.it/JwNGY5DPyD this is my change.org petition against emery. Get people to sign it pls
With you 100 percent bro.
Well articulated
Does anyone know what the terms of Emery’s contract are? It might give us an insight into the Board’s thinking.
That was one most honest and true assements I think ever read…I’m so thankful someone is not asleep at the wheel, because everyone in ownership and management is deaf dumb and blind.We are miles off the top. Other teams play knockabout from back to front composed and skillful artful even, we are calamity. Shape of the team as you so eloquently stated mindless TOMORROW UNAI MUST GO!!!!!Then Kroenkes don’t get off that easy, hire second rate manager and pay less don’t spend the money become garbage….they keep the freaking money. They have literally gutted and destroyed one of the biggest sports brands in the world with money hungry coffer filled greed.Why don’t the owners and management act like owners and manegment and buy some real quality, open the check book buy quality in the middle and the back and put the money in the team and management actually purge all the forest timber….my time is done .Emery must go.. and Sokrates Ozil take them with you…,Luiz ,Kalsinic,.and Callum bench…..Torreira and Guendouzi Tierney Holding and Bellerin if he’s fit are in there… lot to buy , but really quality and strength and the speed are what we lack…..and obviously somebody with a plan, he’s clueless….ps sad in a way cause Krumkes let him down with their greedy money grubbing, he still is horrendous and clueless Good BYE UNAI….
I keep typing “unai emery fired” into my browser. And to my great disappointment, the result is still the same. How the heck is this guy still employed?
All the way from South Africa i will simply say if Unai failed at PSG with all the money he had there, how did we expect anything from him. Besides Europa league what else is on his CV is worth mentioning. On the touchline he looks like an alien lost on planet earth. Im sure a plane ticket to Spain is not that expensive that the management cant afford to sack him. If Tottenham could send MP all the way packing to his native half the way accross the world at cost should be easy peezy sending our clown who is out of his depth. We have no identity and no purpose. We are very passionate about our football in Africa and its basically our life and pride.Right now every weekend is a complete misery as you know the results will make you anti-social the next week. My question is when is the Kroenkes sending this chap packing. Looks like they are enjoying this as well looking at their own ten year record of Arsenal ownership. They need to stop smocking their sox and fire this guy and save his reputation. He has a ferrari type of a team which he chooses to try and race off road. Its time to say goodbye I hope he gets fired before Europa before he wins that simple fixture