As ever, Unai Emery has one eye on the opposition as we look to get back on track against Southampton weekend.
The Gunners take on the Saints at the Emirates having last won a Premier League game on October 6th, with the visitors themselves in a funk and without a win since September 14th.
Recently beaten 9-0 at home by Leicester, the Arsenal boss acknowledges that Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side are struggling, but insists they’ve been more dangerous on the road this season than at St Mary’s.
“Every team is a very difficult team in the Premier League,” said Emery.
“I think they also need the points because they are now not in the best moment for them, but they are playing, I think, better away than in the matches at home.
“They are very competitive also, away. They lost 2-1 at the last moment against Manchester City, they won in Sheffield and also, they lost in the last moment against Tottenham.
“I think they are also going to very, very motivated to achieve that three points against us, but I think also we need to impose, to work, to show our game plan and our intensity against them in the 90 minutes on Saturday.”
In a Premier League table based on away games only, Southampton would be in 8th place on 7 points, despite having lost four of their last five matches. Arsenal would lie 13th on 5 points, so it’s going to be a big test for us to try and win against a team with scintillating form like that.
I mean it’d be foolish to just say “yeah they’re crap” but this isn’t really what fans want to hear either is it. I’m just tired at this point.
This and this again. Just focus on us.
3pts or the road.
I don’t care if these quotes are taken out of context, it happens every single game. This guy is a walking talking excuse.
You see how Klopp has built up a siege mentality at Liverpool that has lead them a year or so unbeaten at home and you contrast it to this plonker’s consistent praising of the opposition without a ball even being kicked. It simply makes my blood boil. Focus on your own £700m team’s quality for fuck’s sake. No wonder the players are lacking confidence.
Balance a little respect to the opposition with confidence in your own team. Thats all that was needed. No need for Emery to give his own players a reason to doubt themselves but it appears he has done so regardless.
I can’t take anything he says seriously anymore. This might be unpopular, but i would take pochettino in a heartbeat.
We would be lucky to get him
Think we all welcomed Sol Campbell’s excellence with wide open arms. No reason it should be any different with Pochettino.
Getting the excuses in early. All respect to southampton but anything less than a solid win for us would be ridiculous
Same thing I thought. There’s always an excuse with him.
Those days seems to be gone.
We are mid-table and playing like one unfortunately.
Not sure we will get 3 points, maybe 1. During the last 5 years we have struggled with Southampton. For some reason Shane Long and Charlie Austin always know how to lock our defence.
Unlock*
To be fair, everyone seems to know how to unlock our defence.
To be fair, the lock on our defence is actually a piece of string with a wooden toggle on it.
It’s an open barn door with a hay string. Not that difficult unlocking yeah?!
You guys actually think there is even a lock on that defense..
There aren’t even any doors on our defence. Just a big ol’ sign that says ‘come on in’.
It is worrying that he always, without fail, talks up the opposition – ‘yeah they’re really good but if we do what we can do we might be ok’ – no wonder ‘confidence’ is being thrown around this week by the players. The manager gives them absolutely none of it. Coupled with obscure tactics it is no wonder nobody fancies it, players or fans.
Oh dear, here we go again.
Under this joker Southampton at home is a tough game. He’s not wrong. That’s our level. Im sure Raul and Edu are rubbing their hands in delight at how well things are going. Exactly what the club wanted
His negativity might effect the players’ confidence if he’s not careful. Oh wait…
Genuinely feel like he’s trolling us at this point
Had to believe Arsenal fans ever called Arsene Wenger clueless
Late Wenger was clueless, same as this clown. Both can be, one does not exclude the other.
You are the fucking clueless one, Dom47.
Wenger was tactically inept, kept a poor coaching agenda which led to some players not flourishing as they might and possibly burnt out after so long. Everything else was still top quality.
I am yet to see what is of emery, though he would make a great scout for a coach on a teams next opposition.
It always make me laugh when a fan says a top quality manager like Wenger was “tactically inept” like they know better.
sorry, tactically inept ‘relative to his peers’.
because you know comparing his knowledge with the tea lady at the local hospital is a tad unfair…
Wenger was not tactically inept, he believed in his philosophy of attractive, attacking football. Sometimes that was a detriment to points totals, but at least he HAD a philosophy. Arsene empowered his players, granting them the freedom to succeed or fail based upon the chances they took.
The problem with Emery is that he seems to have no philosophy or overarching strategy behind his tactics, and fails to instill trust in his players to deliver on their talents, and his rigidity is hurting us at present.
Wholly disagree Wenger was responsible for players not flourishing as they might have. Have you looked at the list of ‘talent’ he had at his disposal? He had player playing way above their quality level. The ones that left did so most likely because they saw the overall condition of the club as stalled. That was a fair criticism. But Ox, Gnabry? They were still maturing, they got their early chops here. Other than those, I can’t think of ‘good’ players not achieving their personal potential here. And just look what he got out of players like Coquelin, Bendtner, Nasri,… Read more »
How can this man inspire his players to perform well when the first thing he says in EVERY pre-match press conference is that our next opponent is going to be difficult for us and actually gives them more encouragement than he does his own team?
WTF Man! this is what’s causing the lack of confidence in the squad. We’re supposed to be building confidence in ourselves, not the opposition. Does Emery not understand what Arsenal FC stands for and how big of a club we are in World football. Playing against a team like Southampton (with all due respect to them) is one of those times he should just be like “F them, we’re Arsenal & we’re going to completely thrash them regardless of anything else” ie their away form. Set the team up to play attacking football, take the game to them from the… Read more »
Stop with the excuses Unai.
Inspiring words as always. Really brings out the optimist in you.
Arsenal struggling, but worse away from home.
Anything other than both a convincing performance and win will not be enough. Where does this constant downwards expectations management end? “Well Halifax at home is always a tough game…..”. I understand that you don’t talk ill of the opponent, but this relentless submissive posturing is just not on. On paper we have every bit as good a squad as anyone in the PL. It is just being comprehensively traduced through poor management at both club and football level. As, most importantly, are we, the mug punter paying fans.
Can this guy stop talking please
You can stop reading what he says.
What shit show is he going to serve up this weekend. Let’s have it right, Southampton are one of the worst teams in the prem, 3 points and a good performance is the minimum expected here Unai.
Considering the amount of time he spends worrying about the other team you’d think we might have an idea how to deal with them now and then. But no, they always outplay us, however bad their ‘moment’ is
When we first appointed our ‘head(less) coach’- merely his name made me quake in my trainers! I will explain: In the Danish language (Denmark is where I live) the pronunciation of his name Unai sounds very similar to ‘Oooh nej’ which simply means :OOH NOO!! That feeling has never left me- I probably have a newly found diagnosis-Emeryitis, maybe? Good fortune to all fellow Gooners, whatever may happen..
Let’s hope his next club is Brondby then.
What’s Danish for ‘winner’ and who is the new head coach with this name?
Ooh No, Emery-O!!!
Southampton are struggling and so are we.
Love emery’s ‘finish seventh’ attitude!
We’ve yet to win a game in the league by more than a goal this season. Its December next week……
-1 goal difference!
Ugh. That’s criminal with the attackers we have.
That’s it then. Draw all day long.
Great User Name !
I suppose we can expect to see us playing three defensive midfielders tomorrow.
yeah, as strikers, maybe Abua is actually a wannabe left back, all the goals were just luck.
In that picture he looks like Sam Eagle
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:SamTheEagle.jpg#/media/File:SamTheEagle.jpg
‘but I think also we need to impose, to work, to show our game plan and our intensity against them in the 90 minutes on Saturday’
18 month’s in and he’s been found out that he doesn’t have a game plan other than ‘try not to lose’, which is not how a club our size is supposed to think, and even worse a plan he’s incapable of coaching these players to execute. Plus getting the excuses in before the game, classic loser mentality.
EmeryOut
We are also an EPL club and we also need the 3 points! Yet we are not motivated and difficult to play against!
“Bwok-bwaaaaak!”. -Emery
In more promising news, Emery has now taken poll position (just ahead of Hasenhutti) in the sack race, according to most bookies
sweet. 3 years ago the net would have exploded at the mere hint of a suggestion of a nod of a wink that Poch could be Arsenal boss, now it feels like many gooners (me included) would actually be ok with an ex spurs boss replacing him, can’t think of a bigger rejection of Emery then that, total fail.
Versus Southampton. At OUR house. A team who got spanked 9nil and languish at the depths of the table.
Our players are looking to the manager…and he’s shaking like a leaf at the prospect of this monumental challenge. ?
No wonder every player interview talks about us struggling for confidence. Still waiting for us to be protagonists, but we are still acting like the special kid who got made to play the back side of the panto horse.
He is very scared, I remember him saying he doesn’t want to go to Liverpool
“After they are clattered 9-0 by Leicester, taking no shots, not leaving their end, their mothers insulted and several players de-pantsed, I believe in this moment we will rise up to equalize in the 93rd minute and draw 1-1 at home.”
Hahahaha “our game plan” hahaha
1. Don’t concede.
2. Oh,we have.
3. Say everything is going to plan.
4. Repeat.
Wonder how many video sessions that required.
“Every team is a very difficult team in the Premier League,” said Emery.
Then run UE, run for your life.
Quote from Nirvana song:”I am so tired I cant see, drinking penny royal tea”. I am absolutely exhausted. Could only read comments section.
Yup, get your excuses in early you utter fraud.
He’s giving excuses already. What a shame!
More excuses in before the game so when Arsenal lose Emery can say “I said Southampton are better team in their moment away from home and I was right. It’s important to be realistic in our moment”
Is he scared of every team we face? Expectation-managing wanker. So annoying.
What should Southampton achieve at Ashburton Grove? If the relentless pressing from our forwards allow them to come out of their own half at all, the passes will be intercepted by the seer Matteo Guendouzi or the magician Lucas Torreira. Giving up passing, and trying to run with the ball instead, they are in for an encounter with the hard but fair Sokratis Papastathopoulos – they better learn his name at once. Any further advance will hit a Brazilian wall in the form of David Luiz. If by microscopic chance they should come to a shot, the living wall Bernd… Read more »
So that’s 1-1 all over