Logo
Football
Written by

Alla Zakarian

31-08-2018 | 18:57 Football
118 Views

Unai Emery’s Arsenal: 3 thing changed in the new regime

Unai Emery started his Premier League life with defeat to Manchester City. Arsenal have only won once in three games. The Gunners travel to South Wales on Sunday looking to build on last weekend’s success against West Ham at the Emirates. Ahead of their Sunday meeting, take a look at what’s changed.
  • Ruthless selection policy

Arsene Wenger was reluctant to make substitutions before the 70th minute and rarely dropped his senior players.  Mesut Ozil is the most high-profile example. Wenger always defended the playmaker against criticism, but Emery told him he needed to work harder. "Defensive moments are for each and every player," Emery said after defeat to Manchester City. Ozil was then substituted in the 68th minute after another muted display against Chelsea, and he was not even in the squad when they faced West Ham. Ozil is not the only player to have felt Emery's ruthlessness. Granit Xhaka started all but one of their Premier Leagues game under Wenger last season and was only substituted seven times in total, but he was hooked after 70 minutes against City and hauled off at half-time against Chelsea.
  • Playing out from the back

"I have to say that last season this idea that Arsenal were always great under Arsene Wenger playing the ball out from the back was a nonsense," said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. "I thought they were hiding on the ball in midfield in the last two or three seasons. The combinations weren't there and the options weren't there." "They are getting caught on occasions and the execution is wrong but to say that the idea is not there or it is the same as last year is an absolute nonsense and it is disrespectful," added Neville. According to Opta, Cech has gone from averaging four short passes per 90 minutes last season to 21 in the new campaign. "Over most of my career I was always asked to play long, so this is a pleasant change for me," said Cech. "Emery wants to play football and dominate the game and that's what we're doing, we're not just kicking the ball up front," added Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
  • Pressing priority

"He wants us to press and press really high up the pitch," said Ramsey recently. "He demands a lot," added Iwobi. "The coaches have different philosophies, they are completely different," said Hector Bellerin in pre-season. "Arsene Wenger was a manager that left a lot of inspiration with the players. He gave you a lot of freedom and now Unai Emery is a bit more tactical, more organised on the pitch." But while Emery's players are still getting to grips with when and where to press, Premier League tracking data underlines a dramatic increase in intensity. Arsenal ranked eighth in the division for distance covered last season, but in the new campaign, they have covered more ground than any other side. They have also made the most high-intensity sprints. Arsenal are already feeling the benefits. Emery will hope to see more progress on Sunday.

Who is Arsenal’s player of the month?

 

Related News

Standings

England, Premier League