LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Unai Emery, Manager of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
With Mesut Ozil returning, Arsenal hosted Wolves on Saturday afternoon in desperate need of a victory. Here are five things we learned from the 1-1 draw.
If you were hoping that a run against bottom-14 sides in the Premier League would galvanise Arsenal’s season as they looked to put establish themselves in the top-four race, sadly, like many others, you were gravely mistaken. Against Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and now Wolves, the Gunners have just one point. Two of those games were at home. The latest, a 1-1 draw with Wolves on Saturday afternoon, saw the away side unleash 25 shots. That tells you everything you need to know.
Here are five things we learned.
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Raul Jimenez of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)
5. Top four will be gone soon
Before the season started, Unai Emery’s targets were quite clear: re-claim Champions League status, either via a top-four finish in the Premier League, the ideal method, or by winning the Europa League. As things stand, Arsenal’s top-four hopes are not strong.
After this draw, Emery’s side sit three points behind Leicester City and Chelsea. Both are playing far more attractive and effective football and could be six points clear by the end of the weekend, with victories against Crystal Palace and Watford respectively. Arsenal also play Leicester away from home next weekend. They will be underdogs.
Should they lose that match, suddenly, the north London outfit will be facing quite the uphill task to recover their position among the top-four race, potentially falling nine points off the pace. With Manchester United and Spurs struggling as they are and Arsenal’s squad cleverly replenished in the transfer window, if there was a season to regain top-four status, this was it. But so far, that is nowhere near what has transpired.
Arsenal%e2%80%99s season as they looked to put establish themselves in the top-four race, sadly, like many others, you were gravely mistaken. Against Sheffield United, Crystal Palace and now Wolves, the Gunners have just one point. Two of those games were at home. The latest, <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/50190999">a 1-1 draw with Wolves on Saturday afternoon</a>, saw the away side unleash 25 shots. That tells you everything you need to know.</p>
<h2><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/pain-in-the-arsenal-podcast-on-arsenal-fc/id1314514440?ign-mpt=uo%3D4%26amp%3Buo%3D4&mt=2%22>Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Unai Emery out, again</a></h2>
<p>Here are five things we learned.</p>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Raul Jimenez of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>5. Top four will be gone soon</h4>
<p>Before the season started, Unai Emery’s targets were quite clear: re-claim Champions League status, either via a top-four finish in the Premier League, the ideal method, or by winning the Europa League. As things stand, Arsenal’s top-four hopes are not strong.</p>
<p>After this draw, Emery’s side sit three points behind Leicester City and Chelsea. Both are playing far more attractive and effective football and could be six points clear by the end of the weekend, with victories against Crystal Palace and Watford respectively. Arsenal also play Leicester away from home next weekend. They will be underdogs.</p>
<p>Should they lose that match, suddenly, the north London outfit will be facing quite the uphill task to recover their position among the top-four race, potentially falling nine points off the pace. With Manchester United and Spurs struggling as they are and Arsenal’s squad cleverly replenished in the transfer window, if there was a season to regain top-four status, this was it. But so far, that is nowhere near what has transpired.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 4. Dear God, not the 4-4-2 diamond </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Unai Emery, Manager of Arsenal gives his team instructions during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>4. Dear God, not the 4-4-2 diamond</h4>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=unai+emery%22>Unai Emery</a> fielded 4-4-2 narrow diamond for the third time this season. The first came away at Liverpool with the Gunners looking to sit deep and play on the counter-attack. The second was also away from home, this time at Watford, Mesut Ozil’s first and only start of the season up until this week. And this was the third time the experiment was rolled out. Predictably, it was the third time it failed.</p>
<p>It was a fluid shape and it did provide some nice passages of play in possession, especially shortly before and after Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s opener, but the overall attacking play was centralised and congested, with little width to stretch the Wolves defence and open up pockets of space. Similarly, it also unhinged the collective structure of the team, which allowed Wolves ample opportunity to counter-attack. With little help out wide, the full-backs were isolated, while the central midfield was stretched as they were forced to cover.</p>
<p>In summer, then, not only were Arsenal limited offensively due to the lack of natural width; they also looked vulnerable defensively. The 4-4-2 diamond does not work. The quicker Emery drops it, the better for all.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 3. The Mesut Ozil dilemma continues </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Mesut Ozil of Arsenal in action during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>3. The Mesut Ozil dilemma continues</h4>
<p>After making his first start in six matches against Liverpool in midweek, Unai Emery thrust <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=mesut+ozil%22>Mesut Ozil</a> straight into the starting line-up once again. The dilemma, then, continues to run.</p>
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<p>Ozil was Arsenal’s best player against Wolves, not that that is saying much. Calm and composed in possession, he tidily shifted the ball forward with accurate and clever passing. Roaming throughout the pitch at the tip of the midfield diamond, he was afforded the freedom to pick up the ball seemingly wherever he saw fit to best aid the team as they looked to play forward, progressive football. It was encouraging.</p>
<p>But if you were looking for conclusive proof that Ozil should be starting on a weekly basis, this was not the performance to provide it. He was perfectly capable, yes, but he was not special, and given that his defensive and pressing contributions are still lacking and he unbalances the central midfield trio that Emery wants to play, he must be more than just tidy.</p>
<p>For Ozil to be positively impactful, he must be special. And that is without considering his £350,000-a-week wages. And so far, he has not yet reached that level. He deserves more chances but doubts should still remain over his inclusion in the team.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 2. The midfield mess </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal<br>battles for possession with Jonny Otto of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>2. The midfield mess</h4>
<p>The 4-4-2 diamond was problematic enough as it is. What was even more detrimental to Arsenal’s overall performance was the structure of the four central midfielders. There was very little positional discipline to the individual roles, and the rough guidelines that each player was given were largely uncomfortable for them. Unai Emery is making a mess.</p>
<p><a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=lucas+torreira%22>Lucas Torreira</a> was oftentimes the most advanced of the quartet, pushing forward in the inside-right channel. <a href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://paininthearsenal.com/?s=mesut+ozil%22>Mesut Ozil</a> was the attacking midfielder by name but dropped very deep at times as well, sometimes to the detriment of the collective shape. Meanwhile, Matteo Guendouzi and Dani Ceballos were instructed to sit the deepest of the four.</p>
<p>Emery seems to be consistently mistaking his central midfielders with roles that are not their most suited. Torreira should be sitting deeper, as the shield in front of the back four, Ozil must be pushed into the final third as much as possible, while Guendouzi and Ceballos should not be shackled with as much defensive responsibility. Emery is getting his central midfield wrong ostensibly every single match. And he is either unwilling or unable to change, adapt, and ultimately improve.</p>
<div class="next-slide slider"> <a class="next-slide-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="next-slide-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"#"> <span class="title">Next:</span> 1. Unai Emery, it is time </a>
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<p class="wp-caption-text" style="width:590px;">LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Raul Jimenez of Wolverhampton Wanderers celebrates with teammates Diogo Jota and Ruben Vinagre after scoring his team’s first goal during the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Jordan Mansfield/Getty Images)</p>
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<h4>1. Unai Emery, it is time</h4>
<p>I have written extensively this week about the one remaining argument in favour of Unai Emery: that you cannot prove he is a bad manager because of the circumstances and size of the sample size that he is presently being judged on.</p><div class="widget fs_ads"> <div class="fs_ad_widget-ad" style="margin:0 auto; width: 300px;"> <div class="fs-ll-ad" data-ad-type="minutemedia_slideshow_inline_300x250__desktop__tablet" data-vendor="minutemedia">
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<p>Nevertheless, while one game does not make such a line of thinking null and void, Emery’s tactical choices in this match were as peculiar as they have been all season, quite clearly illustrating his inability to either fix the problems or recognise their existence in the first place.</p>
<p>The use of a 4-4-2 diamond was wrong from the outset. Everyone called it as soon as the line-ups were announced. His instruction was then extremely confusing, especially in central midfield, with Arsenal looking overly fluid and unstructured for large periods. His substitutions were even worse, withdrawing two of the most effective players with a one-goal lead and then introducing a like-for-like defender when chasing a winner, all the while leaving the club-record signing on the sidelines.</p>
<div class="fs-shortcode" data-type="StoryLink" data-theme="dark" data-text="Arsenal Vs Wolves: Player ratings" data-url="https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-player-ratings-unai-emery-blame/" data-call-to-action="Next"> <div class="story-link-next"> <a class="story-link-next-btn" style="background: #c01f2f" data-track="shortcode" data-track-action="story-link-next-shortcode" href=https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-5-things-learned-unai-emery-time/"https://paininthearsenal.com/2019/11/02/arsenal-vs-wolves-player-ratings-unai-emery-blame/"> <span class="call_to_action">Next:</span> Arsenal Vs Wolves: Player ratings </a> </div>
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<p>There was no individual player who played especially poorly in this game. This was not a capitulation in defence or a lack of creativity in attack. Arsenal are a good team, being poorly coached, which leads to them playing badly. And this was the starkest and most painful illustration.</p><!—pageview_candidate—></p>">
