Unai Emery has impressed a lot of people since his summer arrival at Arsenal and rightly so.
This was always going to be a difficult job to step in to. Many supporters have never known an Arsenal without Arsene Wenger after the Frenchman spent 22 years at the helm with the Gunners.
One of the things that has quickly become clear about Emery is that he’s not afraid to make changes on the pitch if things aren’t going to plan. This, in itself, is refreshing for Arsenal supporters. One of the criticisms of Wenger in his later years at the club was that he was too stubborn in his ways.
Throughout this season, we’ve seen Emery make a number of substitutions that have had a very positive impact on his team’s performance level during matches.
When you look at Emery’s record with other clubs in other leagues, this shouldn’t actually come as too big of a surprise. During his managerial spell with Sevilla, the players that Emery substituted onto the pitch were directly involved in 43 goals. He had a similarly impressive record with PSG, with his substitutes registering a goal or an assist on 24 occasions.
Despite having only been in charge of 12 league games for the Gunners, the players that Emery has brought on in the league have been directly involved in 12 goals (7 goals, 5 assists), which is three more than any other side in the league.
We’ve broken down each of the genius substitutions Emery has made during his time in London so far.
1. Danny Welbeck vs West Ham
Minute of substitution: 75th
Contribution: 1 goal
Final score: Arsenal 3-1 West Ham
Danny Welbeck has been one of the main players that has been affecting matches from the bench for Emery this season, and his first goal of the campaign came after being introduced in the latter stages of Arsenal’s win over West Ham in August.
Arsenal were 2-1 up at the time, but Welbeck made sure of the victory by striking past Lukasz Fabianski in the 90th minute. Unfortunately, Welbeck recently sustained a serious looking ankle injury, meaning his contributions may be limited for the rest of this season.
2. Lucas Torreira vs Cardiff
Minute of substitution: 70th
Contribution: 1 assist
Final score: Cardiff 2-3 Arsenal
This will go down as a big game in Torreira’s Arsenal career. At the start of the season, the midfielder was made to be patient for his opportunities under Emery and often started matches as a substitute.
It soon became clear just how influential a player Torreira could become for Arsenal, though, and he’s now established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet. He grabbed a vital assist against Cardiff to set up Alexandre Lacazette’s winning goal and he’s never looked back since.
3. Aaron Ramsey vs Fulham
Minute of substitution: 67th
Contribution: 1 goal, 1 assist
Final score: Fulham 1-5 Arsenal
What a cameo this was. Ramsey’s contributions to this game will be remembered by the incredible counter-attacking goal that he finished off for the Gunners in the second half.
Both he and Hector Bellerin did brilliantly to juggle the ball forward in Arsenal’s own half. Ramsey played the ball wide to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and the Welshman finished off the forward’s cross with an exquisite back-heel.
It looks as if Ramsey’s main role for the Gunners this season will be to influence matches in the capacity of a substitute. The midfielder is out of contract next summer and looks set to leave the club. Not a bad player to bring off the bench, though, right?
4. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs Fulham
Minute of substitution: 62nd
Contribution: 2 goals, 1 assist
Final score: Fulham 1-5 Arsenal
If you thought Ramsey’s cameo against the Cottagers was good, this was even better. This came at a time when Aubameyang was not starting games under Emery, so this was no bad way to stake a claim for a spot in the first XI.
The Gabonese forward caused Fulham’s defence all sorts of problems in what was a mightily impressive second-half showing from the Gunners. Aubameyang’s first strike saw him finish brilliantly on the turn with his left foot and his second came after he latched onto a through-ball from Ramsey and struck into the bottom corner.
5. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang vs Leicester
Minute of substitution: 61st
Contribution: 2 goals
Final score: Arsenal 3-1 Leicester
Two weeks after his deadly performance at Craven Cottage, Aubameyang put Leicester to the sword at the Emirates. The striker netted two goals in quick succession, both within five minutes of his introduction. They were both tap-ins, but his second strike will go down as one of the goals of the season after an incredible team move from Emery’s side.
Right substitution at exactly the right time. A game-changer.
6. Alex Iwobi vs Liverpool
Minute of substitution: 68th
Contribution: 1 assist
Final score: Arsenal 1-1 Liverpool
Arsenal had just gone 1-0 down to high-flying Liverpool and were in need of a spark from the bench.
Emery backed Iwobi to be that man and threw him on around 20 minutes from time. The Nigerian initially came on as a left-winger, but after Danny Welbeck was introduced, the Arsenal boss actually pushed Iwobi back into an unfamiliar left-back role. It was from here Iwobi produced a moment of brilliance to draw Arsenal level, with an excellent through-ball in behind Liverpool’s defence. Lacazette stayed onside, turned and finished.
Iwobi’s impact saw him given a starting place in Arsenal’s next league match against Wolves.
7. Aaron Ramsey vs Wolves
Minute of substitution: 75th
Contribution: 1 assist
Final score: Arsenal 1-1 Wolves
Ramsey was again used as a substitute in this match, a role with which he is becoming familiar. The likes of Mesut Ozil, Lucas Torreira, Granit Xhaka and Matteo Guendouzi are all ahead of him in the pecking order at present.
The Gunners found themselves 1-0 down and under the cosh against Wolves and knew they needed a goal in the last five minutes.
The midfielder had an effort saved by goalkeeper Rui Patricio, but Arsenal’s breakthrough actually came from the resulting corner. Xhaka took a short corner to Ramsey, who played the ball back to Mkhitaryan before the Armenian’s cross evaded everyone and nestled into the corner.
8. Henrikh Mkhitaryan vs Wolves
Minute of substitution: 76th
Contribution: 1 goal
Final score: Arsenal 1-1 Wolves
Mkhitaryan came on along with Ramsey and the pair combined to create a much-needed equaliser for the Gunners.
Nuno Espirito Santo’s side were disappointed to have not come away from the Emirates with all three points given the chances they created. Even after Mkhitaryan’s goal, they had some golden opportunities. This wasn’t Mkhitaryan’s best goal ever but it was an important one. His cross was put into a corridor of uncertainty for the Wolves’ goalkeeper and eventually found its way into the back of the net.
The post What happened next? Eight Unai Emery substitutions that made an impact for Arsenal appeared first on Squawka News.
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