This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking to The Athletic, Arsenal legend Robert Pires has suggested Unai Emery is struggling to adjust to the “intensity” of English football.
What did he say?
The Gunners have been in dire straits this season, already finding themselves eight points off the top four, and on a miserable win-less run of five games.
Having lost 2-0 to Leicester before the international break, Pires has intimated that whilst Emery may have managed top clubs in other countries like PSG and Sevilla, the difference in having to coach in England is wholly different.
He said: “This team has such quality. The squad can improve this situation. The most important thing now is that Unai Emery needs to talk to the group to try to find a solution together. I hope they can, for the players, for the club, for the manager.
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“I know he is having trouble. Unai is a good guy. He is a nice person. He is a good manager. He is under pressure unfortunately. Fans can’t always appreciate the details of the situation but to be a manager is very difficult, especially when you work in the Premier League. You can be a manager in Spain, France or Italy but when you come to England the intensity is totally different. It is about the fight, the spirit. The intensity is extremely difficult.”
Difference
As Pires somewhat alludes to, tactics and game-plans can often go out the window in the Premier League, and it becomes an old-fashioned battle of spirit. While games last season against their big rivals – particularly at home like against Tottenham and Chelsea for example – saw them get off to energetic starts, with high-intensity pressing and hounding the opposition, this year has been completely different.
The north London side have been far too timid to take the game to the opposition, and it is a telling statistic that they have faced the third-most amount of shots per game in the division this campaign. That is an indictment not only of their defence, but also of the lack of aggression and attacking intent in their play. There is simply not enough desire to try and dominate teams and win games, but rather an approach of trying not to lose at all costs. It’s a massive Emery problem this season that is a major reason why they have picked up just 17 points from 12 league games.
