The second year of a manager’s tenure is arguably more important than his first one. The first year usually goes by in adapting – players adapting to the new manager, the manager adapting to the new squad. By the time the second year comes around – and it comes around much sooner than expected – expectations increase and with that, considerations decrease. With ever-shortening managerial spans becoming the trend in the new game, it’s more than likely that if a manager is unable to get results or sell his project, he will be shown the door. Along with that, the second year of a new manager is more interesting than the first. Having had enough time to acclimatise himself, it’s then that his philosophy (or lack thereof) shines through. It’s a much better reflection of what kind of a manager a club hired and ultimately, whether he’s going to continue.
In today’s tactical analysis, we’ll take a look at Unai Emery ahead of his second season with Arsenal. Put on your seat belts, it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Unai Emery replaced Arsène Wenger last season when the iconic manager stepped down from the mantle after twenty-two long years with Arsenal. Arsenal had just spent their first-ever season without Champions League football since 1998 and had otherwise been in a decline in the recent past. It was the year of change – on the field as well as behind the scenes – and no rational fan expected Emery to find immediate success with the club. Indeed, the objective was proposing a plan of action or a philosophy for the club’s immediate future. And, you know, get back into the Champions League, of course.
2018/19, by all accounts, was a lukewarm season for Emery and Arsenal. Although, they got to the finals of the Europa League and even had a 22 game unbeaten run in 2018, the sheer weight of the numerous underlying issues brought their short-lived optimism down to earth pretty quick. Arsenal started out well and trudged through the middle, but by the end of the season, the situation looked bleak. They had two chances to get back to Champions League – either win the Europa League or finish in the top four. They managed to do neither. Many would suggest they are back where they were a year ago. All of this means that the pressure is on Emery this season to deliver.
Emery’s tactics: the new Arsenal
There’s a lot that can be said about Emery. A very competent manager in his own right, the ex-Sevilla boss can, however, be a little inconsistent. He’s one of those managers who’s capable of producing a tactical masterclass on a given day and then completely losing the plot on a certain day.
Emery has his own philosophy on how the game must be played and it borrows a few ideas from the modern approach of positional play. His ideas are rooted in possession-based football with intense pressing off-the-ball. Tactically, he’s experimented with a few different formations – the 4-2-3-1, 3-4-1-2, and even the 4-4-2 variants but the different elements remain the same – wing-backs providing width, a double pivot and a very hard-working number 10. Off-the-ball, he likes to hold a high-line with his defenders stepping up to win the aerial balls and pressing. The press is initiated by the forwards (who try to move the ball out wide) with the midfielders zonally protecting the space and covering the passing lanes in the centre of the park.
Emery has often spoken about the vision he has for Arsenal –
“I want us to be a chameleon team, able to play in possession, in static attack against close opponents, or to counter-attack.”
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