Three Arsenal players that could shine under Unai Emery – and three that may suffer

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Unai Emery is now two competitive games into his Arsenal reign and, already, there are certainly plenty of talking points. 

The Spaniard’s first game in charge saw the Gunners face defending Premier League champions, Manchester City, at the Emirates – Arsenal lost 2-0 in what was, in all honesty, a lacklustre performance.

Their second game saw them travel to Stamford Bridge to take on London rivals, Chelsea – despite coming from 2-0 down to get back to 2-2, Arsenal lost the game 3-2 to a late Marcos Alonso goal.

Admittedly, Emery could hardly ask for a tougher start to his life at Arsenal. However, there have both been reasons to remain positive for Arsenal fans, as well as reasons to be fearful.

For example, Alex Iwobi’s equaliser against Chelsea ended a sequence of 19 passes, the longest move to have resulted in a goal so far this season.

But just as the patterns of play are slowing revealing themselves, the poorly implemented high-line and panicked touches within their own defensive third have highlighted that maybe some members of the Arsenal squad may struggle to follow their new manager’s meticulous instructions.

Squawka has taken a look at the three players that look set to shine under Unai Emery this season, as well as those that could suffer.

Shine

1. Matteo Guendouzi

At 19-years-old, Matteo Guendouzi is the most inexperienced player to feature for Arsenal over their first two games this season. His signing, when compared to the hype around fellow central-midfielder Lucas Torreira, was very low-key and he was expected to be ‘one for the future’.

However, the French youth international is performing above and beyond for Unai Emery, carrying out every task asked of him as well as showing an eagerness to be on the ball and an unnerving confidence on it.

Guendouzi is assured and measured in possession, his 84 completed passes so far is the highest number of any midfielder at the club, while his team-high 139 touches of the ball over the first two games shows just how much he is ready and willing to seek out possession.

Not just the main protagonist on the ball, Guendouzi also tops the charts at Arsenal when it comes to interceptions (9) and tackles (8), it would appear that the Gunners have a midfield pivot-extraordinaire on their hands.

It is very early days for the ex-Lorient midfielder but, if he carries on with these kinds of performances, some of the senior Arsenal midfielders may struggle to get a look-in this season.

Suffer

1. Granit Xhaka

In stark contrast to his 19-year-old midfield partner, Granit Xhaka has endured a shocking start to the season with Arsenal. Having featured in nearly 300 club games, as well as 66 internationals for Switzerland, Xhaka should be the one leading the way for Guendouzi, showing him the ropes.

Unfortunately for Arsenal, that has not been the case at all. After arriving to much fanfare after Euro 2016, the ex-Borussia Mönchengladbach man has completely divided opinion during his first two seasons at Arsenal – he is only further polarising opinion now.

His 14 misplaced passes so far is the fourth highest of any Arsenal player and the second highest in their midfield – Henrikh Mkhitaryan has 17 but is arguably playing more risky passes higher up the pitch and has also played 65 minutes more than Xhaka.

The Swiss midfielder’s wastefulness in possession is worrying, it is integral to his primary role within the side. Charged with progressing the ball forward, he is usually the first option for the centre-backs to look for before advancing the ball up the pitch to his more attacking teammates.

Under the relentless pressure from Pep Guardiola’s side, Xhaka struggled. Harried by the likes of Kante and Barkley at Stamford Bridge, he struggled again.

Matteo Guendouzi is shouldering much of the defensive output, as was expected, but the fact the teenager has looked a more reliable outlet when playing out from the back is concerning for Xhaka.

With Lucas Torreira waiting in the wings – a press-resistant midfielder who transformed Uruguay when used at the base of midfield at the World Cup – the Swiss international may not be given many more chances to prove his worth to Unai Emery. His immobility could also count against him as Arsenal’s new manager decides on his strongest midfield composition.

Shine

2. Henrikh Mkhitaryan

The Armenian midfielder has been described as a ‘Jekyll and Hyde’ type of player during his time at Arsenal so far – even more so at the start of this season.

Yes, the ex-Manchester United man has the most failed passes of any Arsenal midfielder. However, he has also been Arsenal’s creator-in-chief and is often giving the ball away in attacking areas, attempting to play one of their forwards in.

Indeed, that is highlighted by the fact that Mkhitaryan has, by far, created more chances for Arsenal than any other player at the club – his nearest rivals all sit way back with just two chances created.

Against Chelsea, Mkhitaryan also showed that he has a lot of mental fortitude and that he is able to put mistakes behind him quickly. In the first half at Stamford Bridge, Mkhitaryan blazed a shot over the bar when it looked easier to stick it in the back of the net. However, before that half had even ended, the 74-time Armenian international had the ball in the back of the net after 37 minutes and then turned provider just four minutes later, setting up Alex Iwobi’s equaliser.

Mkhitaryan needs to add a lot more defensive diligence to his game to help Hector Bellerin at right-back, but he has the blend of attitude and ability that Emery will look for from his wide creative players. The more he adjusts, the better he will become.

Suffer

2. Mesut Ozil 

In another midfield contrast, Mesut Ozil has been non-existent in the Arsenal midfield.

Ozil, who has 198 appearances under his belt for Arsenal to date, has failed to stamp down any kind of authority in the opening two Premier League games of the season and has looked a shadow of what we all know he is capable of.

Despite playing 158 minutes across Arsenal’s first two games this season, Ozil has only managed to create two chances for his teammates – both of those came in the opening game against Manchester City when he was deployed as one of the wide players flanking Aaron Ramsey.

Ozil has looked unsure of his role in Emery’s system as of yet, already being used in two different positions.

Arsenal’s new No.10 looks set to battle Aaron Ramsey for the spot to match his shirt number, with the latter providing more of a threat off the ball than Ozil, leading the press that the new manager wants to implement, the reason why the German was taken off against Chelsea.

However, should he be used out wide, he needs to show that he can work back as well as maintain his killer touch in the final third.

Unai Emery will now use the upcoming fixtures to determine which role suits Ozil best, if any at all.

Shine

3. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is yet to add to the 10 goals he scored in his first 14 games when he joined Arsenal for the second half of last season.

However, the early signs are very good. Aubameyang has had five shots across the first two games of this season, Henrikh Mkhitaryan is the only one to match that number so far. Aubameyang should be criticised for not scoring from some of those chances, especially the one he fired over the bar against Chelsea, but he is getting into those positions and a player with his record is unlikely to miss man more.

Emery’s all-action, high-press style of play suits Aubameyang down to the ground and it is a gameplan under which he thrived at Borussia Dortmund, scoring 141 goals in 213 games for the German club.

He is getting and missing chances at the moment but don’t bank on that continuing for long – Aubameyang is one of the deadliest strikers in Europe and, with the playmakers at Arsenal’s disposal, will get plenty more chances in the games to come.

Suffer

Petr Cech

The critics have been circling around Petr Cech for a couple of years now after an apparent decline in his abilities.

The former-Chelsea Premier League winner is still a solid shot stopper, but his advancing years mean he can’t get across the goal as quickly as he once did.

However, and even more alarmingly, Cech seems to be totally out of his depth with Unai Emery’s current gameplan that involves a lot of passing out from the back, starting with the goalkeeper.

This was highlighted by his awful attempt at a pass to Shkodran Mustafi against Man City that nearly went in his own net.  This led to social media mockery from Bayer Leverkusen, the former club of Arsenal’s new goalkeeper Bernd Leno, as well as opposition fans.

Suprisingly, Cech does have the most successful passes (56) out of any goalkeeper in the league, but that is because he has touched the ball more times than any other goalkeeper as well (106). When compared to the other top Premier League goalkeepers, Liverpool’s Alisson has only misplaced four passes during his first two games for the club – only David De Gea (25) has performed worse than Cech (22) in this department among the Premier League’s ‘Big Six’.

If the 36-year-old doesn’t adapt to this new style quickly, Leno could soon usurp his position.

The post Three Arsenal players that could shine under Unai Emery – and three that may suffer appeared first on Squawka News.



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