Life has been tough for Unai Emery recently, with Arsenal winning one game in their last six increasing the pressure on the Spaniard.
With the majority of fans calling for him to be sacked for poor results, Emery is remaining faithful with his philosophy and says his side is taking time adapting to his style.
While there have been questions raised on how exactly he wants Arsenal to operate under him, Emery remains assertive that his vision won’t change in spite of tough times.
In an interview with Sky Sports, he explained his style by pin-pointing a few games from earlier this season and how he wants his side to repeat that going forward.
He stated, “We are still in construction, trying to be competitive. There have been games where the team has played very well from the point of view of building up the play, and there have been other games where we have performed very well in terms of pressing our opposition.”
“I can give two clear examples from this season. In terms of build-up play, we can talk about the first half against Watford, which I think was the best first half of the season, when we went in at the break two goals up.”, the Spaniard added.
The former Sevilla manager further opined the other style his side thrived in during their UEFA Europa League win over Eintracht Frankfurt earlier this season.
He explained, “Then, in terms of being organised to press and counter-attack, because of the circumstances and the team we are playing against, there was the game at Eintracht Frankfurt [a 3-0 win], which was a complete game. So those are two performances in which we have used the two ideas.”
There have been questions on whether or not the character of Emery’s side is strong enough to succeed in the Premier League and when asked about his side lacking a proper identity, he opined.
“We are working on that. We are in that process. Last year was a season in which the team showed it was capable of using different systems and performing at a level which was mostly good.”
“This year, we have had more problems because some new players are having to adapt and there have been some difficult circumstances.”, he further added.
Emery also explained how he is working on making his side emotionally strong in order to sustain pressure and relay aggression towards the opponents to keep them on the back-foot.
He said, “But we are working hard, first to find emotional stability, then to be a team that plays good football with the ball and is also capable of being aggressive in terms of the pressure we put on our opponents. That is still the idea that I want to give to this team.”
Arsenal next travel to high-flying Leicester City desperate for a win, as Emery will need to pull something rather spectacular to stun the Foxes at their own yard.
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