Unai - why did it go wrong?

Aston Villa got a great result last night, beating Bayern Munich 1-0 in what is being described as an Emery masterclass. He certainly has a great reputation and success in Europe over his career. With results like that, the question about his time at Arsenal always comes up. Why did it go wrong?

1 - Replacing Arsene Wenger
This was always going to be a tough task. But it wasn't just the manager - or head coach - role that we were losing with Wenger. The whole structure of the club was changed with Emery just being a cog in the mechanics. Raul Sanllehi came in as Head of Football, whilst others like Sven Mislintat (head of scouting) and Edu (sporting director) were added to the team. It was a massive change from the Wenger days.

2 - State of the team
Wenger had managed to keep us in the top 4 until his penultimate season. Emery was taking over a team in decline, however he did have £100m pounds worth of attacking threat in Lacazette and Aubayemang, who were both brought in in Wengers final season. The Mislintat-Dortmund connection had also helped get Mkhitaryan to the club, adding to the undeniable quality of Mesut Ozil. Very experienced 'keeper Petr Cech was in goal. It was a team, on paper, that should be challenging for trophies.

3 - Signings
The amount of say Emery had in transfers is debateable, and many suggest his didn't get who he wanted.
There was a clear focus change, though. Wengers sides had been accused of being easily bullied and lacking leaders - so the signings of Lichtsteiner and Sokratis were perhaps more to do with personality types than playing.
An attempt to solve the long standing DM issue was made with the signing of Lucas Torreira, Bernd Leno was bought in to challenge Cech and French talent Matteo Guendouzi was an exciting prospect.

4 - Disastrous End of Season
Whether it was new manager bounce, or great tactical nous, the start of Emerys reign was pretty good. We did lose the opening 2, but then went on a 14 game unbeaten league run and played some great football - notably against Leicester in a 4-1 win, Fulham away 5-1 and best of all a passionate, aggressive and footballing quality 4-2 NLD win over Spurs in front of a raucous Emirates crowd.
Going into April we were third and going well in the Europa. Two avenues were open in our bid to get back into CL. However, maybe the shadow of Quarter Finals and Semi Finals against Napoli and Valencia made Emery take his eye off the league. Four defeats and a draw in our last 7 saw Chelsea and Spurs pip us to top 4, and then the Europa final was a disaster.

5 - Off-field Discipline
Even before he came to Arsenal there were accusations Emery couldn't handle big personalities and was bullied by star players. At Arsenal we had a couple of distinct groups. The Auba/Laca led party guys and the more stoic German-led group. Auba and Laca clearly had influence on the younger members of the squad, and reports that some of those were openly mocking Emery to his face. Then, just before the 19/20 season, The Sun lead with a story of a number of the team doing balloons and being in a complete state.
Captain Laurent Koscielnys departure didn't help things, with his Bordeaux reveal being labelled as disrespectful. Old heads Lichtsteiner and Cech also left. Emery didn't announce a new captain until late September, suggesting he had doubts with who could lead the team as his main man.

6 - Second season signings
The arrival of Nicolas Pepe will go down as one of the worst Arsenal signings ever, and it is widely reported Emery didn't want him, preferring Zaha of Crystal Palace. David Luiz was bought to add leadership, and Kieran Tierney arrived despite having an ongoing injury issue.

7 - Dressing Room lost
After winning the opening 2 games of the 19/20 season, Arsenal went into a massive slump. 2 wins in 11 in the League, knocked out of the League cup and, after 3 opening wins, a draw and defeat in the Europa group. That defeat proved the end for Emery, who seemingly lost the ability to win games. Arsenal were rapidly falling down the table and it didn't seem likely to stop.
Emery was making strange calls, none least playing Torreira as #10! His captain, Granit Xhaka, saw his tenure last just a couple of months as he lost his head with the crowd as he was subbed. Emery had little choice but to strip Xhaka of the armband, and the choice of Aubameyang to replace him seemed to be dressing room led and arguably a mistake.

8 - Spectre of Arteta
Emery was never a unanimous choice, with some wanting to take a big risk on Mikel Arteta. There was always a feeling he could do big things, and the fear of missing out on him loomed large in the minds. The new structure headed by Raul was failing, many off his men departing under a cloud. Some talk of dodgy dealings too, and Raul was pushed out the door.
Edu and Josh Kroenke became even bigger voices, and they were massive fans of Arteta.



In retrospect, Emery never really stood a chance at Arsenal. A bit like Bruce Rioch, he was replacing a legend whose own ways of doing things were imbedded into the club. Funnily enough, both managers finished 5th in their only full seasons, but where Rioch went head to head with the biggest characters (Ian Wright especially), Emery seemed to shy away from dealing with the most influential players. Both ways proved wrong.
Ultimately, it was just the wrong time for Emery. The failed attempt to replace Wenger with Raul leading meant Emery was largely a victim of others.

Both parties have moved on to better times, hopefully Emery and his Villa side can take points off City instead of us this season!!