For the first time in over 20 years, Arsène Wenger is not the manager of Arsenal Football Club. The Frenchman left his namesake after the 2017/2018 season, and Unai Emery, a young manager from the Spanish state of Pais Vasco, or Basque Country, was handed the reins.
The former Arsenal manager was a divisive character at the end of his 22-year term. #Wengerout became a worldwide sensation. As a lifelong Gunner, my faith in Wenger ended when in 2017 Tottenham Hotspur finished above Arsenal for the first time since 1995. But, just like the rest of the Arsenal faithful, it wasn’t always like that. Now that he’s gone, we can look back at Wenger’s reign from the outside looking in, but his time as the manager must be broken down into two halves.
Arsène & Arsenal Part 1: 1996-2006
Arsenal under Wenger was a force to be reckoned with during this decade of time.
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From the 1996/1997 season to the 2004/2005 season, they never finished below second place in the EPL.
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They won 11 trophies, including three titles, two league and cup doubles, four total FA cups, and went an entire EPL campaign undefeated.
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In 2006, they made it to the Champions League final, although they lost out to Ronaldinho and Barcelona.
Arsenal played a flowing game of possession based attacking football, and they put in some wonderful performances. During this first half of Wenger’s Arsenal career, the Gunners were one of the best two teams in England depending on the year, and maybe even one of the top 10 teams in Europe.
Arsène & Arsenal Part 2: 2006-2018
And yet, somehow, in the second half of Arsène Wenger’s reign, Arsenal became the punching bag of European Big Boys. Heavy defeats became a somewhat yearly routine: 5-1 to Spurs in 2008, 8-2 to United in 2011, and 5-1 to Bayern Munich two years in a row in 2016 and 2017, just to name a few. They never finished above 3rd and fell as low as fifth and sixth in Wenger’s last two years. Once a European power, Arsenal became (nearly) a mid-table English side. At times, they couldn’t even touch the top 25 teams of Europe if their club future depended on it.
What went wrong? Well, it wasn’t that the players weren’t good enough. They had already been successful before they got to Arsenal, and for many, they would go on to win trophies at different clubs after leaving. It wasn’t that Wenger had changed his strategies and management tactics because Arsenal continued to play that possession-based game he had always favored. It was more abstract than that…a saturation of the environment at the club. More or less, it was the lack of change that led to a certain amount of comfort that evidently wasn’t conducive to success. Wenger came to Arsenal in 1996 and was labeled a revolutionary. He changed things left and right, and Arsenal succeeded. But, when the rest of the league adapted and progressed, Arsenal remained static. And it led to their tragic (for me and other Arsenal fans at least) fall from grace.
Looking forward to meeting you and, above all, showing on the pitch we are @Arsenal COYG! pic.twitter.com/pq4wxpYGQ6
— Unai Emery (@UnaiEmery_) August 11, 2018
Unai Emery: 2018 and Onward
Under new manager Unai Emery, changes are already evident at Arsenal. Immediately after his appointment, the club signed four players early in the transfer window — a contrast from Wenger’s much-derided transfer policy. New signings Mateo Guendouzi, Lucas Torreira, Sokratis, and Bernd Leno have already featured prominently for the club. Perhaps most importantly they are all central players, indicating that Emery is trying to put his stamp on the spine of the team. Arsenal has also been trying to play it out the back this season which has been a departure from Wenger’s usual Arsenal tactics, and Emery has shown he will make early substitutions in a game or drop a player altogether if they underperform — again, another departure from Wenger’s usual policy of management. Another change from the Wenger days and my personal favorite is that Emery shows his emotion on the sidelines in a way that Wenger never did.
And so far, things seemed to have clicked at Arsenal. They are 12 games unbeaten (they’d won 11 in a row before tying Crystal Palace on Sunday) for the first time in a decade. At the moment, they’re performing better than any of the squads that played under Wenger during the second half of his reign. Aubameyang and Lacazette are bagging goals. Özil seems reinvigorated. The new signings are exceeding expectations, particularly Uruguayan international Lucas Torreira. Granted, the 12 games have been against mid-table or lower sides. But Arsenal became accustomed to dropping points against lower half-teams, a depressing commonplace factor of Wenger’s 06’ to ‘18 squads.
A Tough December Ahead for Arsenal
It’s still early in Emery’s reign, and while this run is exciting, Arsenal fans should contain their elation. A match against last year’s Champions League finalists and current league leaders Liverpool is coming soon, and in early December, Spurs, and United come knocking as well. Arsenal has also drawn Spurs in the Carabao Cup semi-finals taking place in December as well. These are all big tests and we’ll have a better idea of where Arsenal is once we get to January.
Now, despite all the aforementioned changes I’ve stated, this doesn’t mean there is a giant renaissance at Arsenal. But, there have been changes nonetheless. I argue that the catalyst for these improvements isn’t even the implementation of those changes, but rather just the changes themselves. The willingness to change and experiment and move away from old tactics and policies. Arsenal became set in its ways under Wenger; a little shakeup was all they needed.
Patience is A Virtue
Now that Emery has been brought in, he deserves a proper chance. It took Manchester United 3 years to taste success under eventual legend Sir Alex Ferguson in the 1980’s. Even in today’s game, Pep Guardiola needed a full season and three transfer windows before he tasted success with Manchester City. Emery needs time to make the squad his own (there are reports that Welsh talisman Aaron Ramsey will leave the club soon, with young Paraguayan international Miguel Almirón being touted as his replacement). As Emery shapes the squad to his liking, it must be accepted that brilliance doesn’t come quickly. Can Emery bring Arsenal back to their glory days? Only time will tell. What do you think?
