Premier League: Rejuvenated under Unai Emery, Arsenal will face a tough test of credentials against Liverpool

The Wenger Out brigade had to be reined in. The Arsene Wenger agonistes were getting greedy. So, they were told — ‘Look what happened to Manchester United after Alex Ferguson left! It can get worse.’ Arsenal had not lived up to their stature for years, but stability first was the club’s unofficial line. The lid was kept firmly on ambition. Eventually, though, what passed for stability slipped away as it had rested on shaky foundations. The problems became too pungent to ignore. [caption id=“attachment_5498581” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Arsenal’s head coach Unai Emery gestures to Mesut Ozil. AFP[/caption] Unai Emery was chosen to clean up the mess left by Wenger but his arrival in the summer met a muted reception. After all, Emery’s last job at Paris Saint-Germain had left him sprawling in the attempt to manage gigantic egos. Arsenal certainly did not represent a similar challenge, but it is never prudent to step into the shoes of a manager who had been there for two decades, not to mention the most iconic of figures. But Emery benefitted from walking into a club which had grown accustomed to nightmares. A new manager’s job is to imagine a different dreamscape. Arsenal certainly sought one after walking dazed for years. Arguably, Emery has already imagined a new ‘dream-reality’ for the players and the fans. It is perhaps not very different from the world Wenger created in North London but it is refreshed, resplendent, and reified. Anyone still doubting that can watch Arsenal’s third goal against Leicester about two weeks ago. It stirred the soul, like a new song from the Wenger hymn sheet. It is ironic that Arsenal had to move on from Wenger to put the ex-manager’s ideas into practice again. The players needed a new messenger perhaps, even if the gospel did not change dramatically. Arsenal under Wenger were, of course, not Arsenal under Emery. However the quick-passing interchange between players and flowing moves are highly reminiscent of the style of play Wenger lives by. Emery has carried those ideals, even as he changes the team gradually. To be clear, he is not leading the reformation alone. The appointment of Raul Sanllehi as Director Of Football and Sven Mislintat as the player recruitment head earlier this year gave an inkling of the new direction the club has undertaken. Some results are apparent now. For instance, the practice of running down contracts to their final year is set to end. Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, and Danny Welbeck will be the last ones to negotiate a practice which has hurt Arsenal over the years. But even on the pitch, the changes are obvious. Emery identified the defence as an area of concern over the summer; all of his five signings were primarily directed to help Arsenal in their own half. Although the Spanish manager is keen to not disrupt the squad, he has already succeeded in establishing Matteo Guendouzi and Lucas Torreira as regular starters while Bernd Leno will surely become the number one goalkeeper soon. The changes to the style of play — mainly, pressing with greater intensity and playing out from the back — has been aided by a favourable fixture list, after Arsenal kicked off their league campaign with matches against Manchester City and Chelsea. Since then, the Gunners have won 12 out of 13 matches and drawn the other while bedding-in tactical shifts. Their offensive play has become refined, even though familiar issues at the back still confound the team. A resolution of those problems will not come soon. With full-backs Nacho Monreal and Hector Bellerin doubtful, and Guendouzi suspended, a major test of Arsenal’s credentials will be held on Saturday when Liverpool visit. During the peak Wenger years, this fixture did not cause serious fears for the Gunners. In fact, starting December 2001, Liverpool did not defeat Arsenal for eight matches straight in all competitions. But the shoe is on the other foot now. Ever since Jurgen Klopp was appointed three years ago, Arsenal have lost three and drawn two of the five fixtures against Liverpool. The Gunners last defeated the Reds in April 2015. Even now, the gap in quality is unmistakable. While Liverpool are certain title contenders this season, Arsenal will do well to finish in the top four. No better time to make a statement then, for Emery and his players. In the past decade, far too often Arsenal found themselves weak and wilting in the face of pressure from a major domestic rival. Emery referred to this record on Friday when he said, “We want to write a new history.” It has been eight matches since Arsenal defeated a fellow member of the ‘Big Six’ — a 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at home last November. That win is the Gunners’ only success against their major league rivals from the start of last season. The losses to Manchester City and Chelsea at the beginning of this campaign suggested a long road ahead for Emery, but the subsequent run of form has turned the grey clouds white. We will know better on Saturday whether this turnaround is a reliable forecast. Arsenal’s form in the past has been prone to sudden changes in mood. The injuries to key members in defence may mean the Gunners will not be to show what they are all about. But it promises to be a tough evening nevertheless, against a Liverpool side which has only grown in strength and nuance since the clubs last met in December 2017; a thrilling 3-3 draw was played out at the Emirates Stadium then. A repeat cannot be ruled out but were that to happen, it is likely that the home fans would judge the result favourably. For Emery has aroused them with an evocation of past glories. A clean break with Wenger’s time was not the medicine required and he understood it well. Emery knows that the club will long live in Wenger’s shadow. As William Faulkner said, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.” Not just yet for Arsenal, anyway. Priyansh is an independent writer in New Delhi. He tweets @GarrulousBoy