Danny Welbeck's work ethic could be the model for Unai Emery's 'new way' at Arsenal
It was the expression as much as the answer that conveyed his message. Arsenal manager Unai Emery had been asked about Manchester City’s most recent visit to the Emirates on a snowy sub-zero Thursday in March, Pep Guardiola’s men inflicted a 3-0 rout that left Arsene Wenger largely frozen to his seat, the stadium seemed half empty and the end was in view.
“A new way,” Emery simply said, in response to whether he had studied that game but delivered with such force and clarity to suggest he had watched that match and does expect something very different from a group that had found themselves trailing 3-0 after only 33 minutes.
The big difference will surely be in the basic set-up of his team. Wenger himself believed that only one subtle change is sometimes the key to unlocking a team’s full potential, and we have seen enough already in pre-season to expect that Emery will make one key tactical switch.
An authentic holding midfielder is likely to replace one of the three players who had traditionally been given licence to roam behind a main central striker in a switch from 4-2-3-1 to 4-3-3. Just that single tweak should vastly alter the team balance, and it was striking on Friday to hear Emery outline his requirements for even an attacking player in Danny Welbeck.
“I said to him when he arrived with us, ‘I want the best performance in your career. Work for that’. And then the possibility to play as a left winger, right winger or striker. Helping with his quality and also getting better with his data. More goals, more assists. Working to help when we need quick pressing against the opposition.”
The making of Unai Emery
It was that latter instruction which felt most significant. When a club changes manager, there is often a tendency to veer to something very different to who went before, and while there is a similarity in the possession-based games that Emery and Wenger like, what happens when Arsenal don’t have the ball should be instructive. Wenger’s recent teams simply carried too many attacking players who did not do enough defensive work – Andrei Arshavin, Lukas Podolski and Mesut Ozil. This will surely now be less accepted.
Emery’s apparent enthusiasm for Welbeck felt significant on Friday. A player brought up by Sir Alex Ferguson, who had that work ethic instilled in him, is out of contract next summer, but there seems a willingness now to let him earn a new deal.
“Danny Welbeck is one of the players who has a multi-position possibility: right winger, left winger, striker, and also Thursday, he worked with us at left-back,” said Emery. “And his performance was good. I like this: to help positions across the team with positive spirit. For me, it’s clear. On Thursday, the transfer window closed, and our players will stay with us.”
A new era?
It has been a restricted first transfer window for Emery. The big decisions over the attack were already taken in January when Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan all signed bumper deals that will keep them at the club until at least 2021. Emery has even give Ozil added responsibility in making him one of his four captains beneath the injured Laurent Koscielny, and while that might well have already been his plan, the basic truth is that the German’s questionably huge contract obliges Emery to make this particular situation work as best as he can. Ozil does, in any case, very much feel like the sort of player who responds best to an arm around the shoulder.
Emery has, of course, arrived at Arsenal from Paris Saint-Germain where he faced an even bigger puzzle over attacking options, including Neymar, Edinson Cavani, Kylian Mbappe, Julian Draxler and Angel di Maria. Pre-season suggests that he will consistently now limit his choice to three from Aubameyang, Ozil, Mkhitaryan, Alexandre Lacazette and Welbeck. He intends to change according to the opponent.
“We can’t give them with these combinations one style to work on every game,” said Emery. “I believe in the quality of these players and also I believe these combination will get better together. It’s about the mix.”
Where Arsenal can look to exploit Man City
The actual personnel on Sunday is unlikely to be radically altered. Sokratis will surely come into the defence, and Lucas Torriera should finally provide that defensive screening presence behind Aaron Ramsey and Granit Xhaka that Arsenal so obviously lacked.
Injuries make Ainsley Maitland-Niles a likely choice at left-back, and the two big decisions relate to positions where new signings have been made. Does Stephan Lichtsteiner replace Hector Bellerin at right-back? Don’t be surprised given his pedigree with Juventus, although Bellerin has had the advantage of a full pre-season following Lichtsteiner’s World Cup with Switzerland.
Elsewhere, does Bernd Leno simply come in for Petr Cech? The goalkeepers were rotated in pre-season, and this remains unclear. Emery’s message is that such decisions will be shaped by day-to-day performance rather than reputation. “The past is good but it’s finished,” he said. “This is a new way to try to win more. In football, you live for your present and your future.”
