Frank Lee
I think it was Sevilla’s excellent run of winning three consecutive Europa League trophies that gave me the idea, back when Unai Emery was appointed as Arsene Wenger’s successor, that he would address Arsenal’s defensive woes. In the drunken haze of hearing from someone other than Wenger talk about his plans for the team, I can only imagine I chose what I wanted to believe at the time. After all, don’t you need a solid defence to progress throughout the many ties you will face to win a European trophy?
In the light of the first three competitive fixtures seeing six goals conceded (which in fairness should have been more) I decided to look at the stats of Unai Emery as a manager, as much as anything to see whether the kind of display we saw against Chelsea is likely to be improved.
First up, I looked at Sevilla’s record in those three successful Europa League campaigns. Taking into account group stages (in 2015-16 that group being in the Champions League) as a rule of thumb Sevilla would concede a goal a game. The specific figures are – for 15 matches
2013-14 For 22 Against 14
2014-15 For 29 Against 14
2015-16 For 25 Against 19 (11 of those against suffered in six Champions League group games. Man City and Juventus qualified from the group)
If you take a goal a game over a league campaign, you will have 38 conceded. That is good enough for top four, but not to win the title. However, the Europa League is not ideal for that comparison. But as a sequence of trophy wins, back in early July, my belief in Emery was based on that, so it was something I felt the need to explore.
I then checked out PSG’s European record under Emery. In 2014-15, they conceded 13 goals in 8 games, whilst a season later, it was 9 goals in 8 games. Again when translated to a league campaign, it's at least a goal a game, although it's a fair argument to say the competition in the Champions League is going to be stiffer.
So let’s look at his domestic league record – all 38 games played unless stated
2017-18 PSG For 108 Against 29
2016-17 PSG For 83 Against 27
2015-16 Sevilla For 51 Against 50
2014-15 Sevilla For 71 Against 45
2013-14 Sevilla For 69 Against 52
2012-13 Spartak Moscow For 28 Against 30 (dismissed after 17 games only)
2011-12 Valencia For 59 Against 44
2010-11 Valencia For 64 Against 44
2009-10 Valencia For 59 Against 40
2008-09 Valencia For 68 Against 54
2007-08 Almeria For 42 Against 45
Here, for PSG, no problems. The team were conceding well under a goal a game and posting title winning defensive stats (although in Emery’s first season, that wasn’t actually good enough to overcome Monaco). In fairness, the French league is generally less competitive though, especially given PSG’s financial advantage. I think we can conclude from this that if Emery was given the Man City job, he should be able to get the goals against figures low enough to win the title. But Arsenal obviously need something different, for the simple fact that teams are less intimidated by them in recent seasons.
So we look at the figures posted in Spain. The best is 40 conceded in one season, the worst 54. The kind of figures that will deliver from third to sixth place. So some hope for Arsenal’s immediate aims – third or fourth place this season would indicate definite progress and a better record than at least two of the other ‘top six’ sides.
What is perhaps a little concerning though is Emery’s performance in Russia. Looking at the nationalities of the players in Spartak’s squad that season, a mix of domestic, Brazilian, Argentinian, Irish (Aiden McGeady), Armenian, Czech, Spanish, Swedish (Kim Kallstom!), Ghanain, Nigerian, Ukrainian, Italian, Georgian and Croatian. One imagines that translators were to the fore and that Emery could only really communicate with about half a dozen of his squad. That should be less of an issue in England. As Emery learned French to communicate with his PSG squad, so he is learning English now, even if on occasion his pronunciation of certain vowel sounds borders on the tortuous.
Yet, it cannot be denied that he is unproven as a manager outside of Spain, given his achievements with PSG were regarded as the absolute minimum expected and his lack of progress in European competition compared with his record at Sevilla. So if you enjoy a little punt on the football, it does appear as if Emery could offer you some interesting options. You could explore thebookiesoffers.co.uk to see some of the bonus bets available before you decide where to bet. Punters can find some best betting offers here like £30 betting offer by PaddyPower or £50 betting offer by Mansionbet. But having seen Arsenal’s three matches so far, it’s fair to say that betting on at least one opposition goal will more often than not see you profit.
There is an argument that the coach may not have the best of defenders to work with, but whose idea is it for both full backs to be bombing forward at the same time? That is the consequence of tactics. This situation might improve if the more defensively protective Lucas Torreira starts matches instead of entering after the interval, but one suspects a culture change may be needed more than one individual to stem the flow of opposition chances. Until then, Arsenal’s recovery from the car crash of last season is simply going to have to be dependent on outscoring the opposition. Because under Emery, the days of ‘boring boring Arsenal’ are not going to return anytime soon.
