Arsenal manager Unai Emery is quietly doing a very, very good job. Arsenal fans, fickle and privileged as they are, have endured a torrid last few years. Watching the team fail in the same manner over and over again under Arsene Wenger has left them shellshocked.
Add to that, adjusting to being a Europa League team while watching the rise of Liverpool and Spurs under trendy managers made the pain that much more acute.
Arsenal’s Groundhog Day-esque existence under Wenger left the team in a state of near-constant crisis. Each disappointing result had the potential to send them into a melancholy from which their season would inevitably not recover.
Under Unai Emery this season, things are a little different. They have still endured poor results and poor runs of form. However, it doesn’t feel so fatal anymore. It no longer takes Arsenal two months to get back to their best after one poor game.
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When Arsenal beat Spurs 4 – 2 earlier in the season, they failed to capitalize. They followed it up with a disappointing draw at Old Trafford and a 3 – 2 defeat away at Southampton in the league. Then, Spurs came back to the Emirates in the Carabao Cup and beat them 2 – 0.
That’s the kind of poor run that would have ended their season in years gone by. However, they kept going, beating Chelsea 2 – 0 at home in the league to prove their mettle.
Similarly, the 3 – 1 defeat to UTD in the F.A Cup was followed by a loss to Man City in the league. Arsenal steadied the ship with adequate albeit nervy league wins over Cardiff and Huddersfield.
In perhaps Emery’s worst Arsenal result, they lost 1 – 0 away to BATE Borisov in the Europa League in mid-February. The mood was as low as it has ever been after that gut punch of a result. The fans began to question Unai Emery.
However, they progressed in the second leg. Then, followed it up with encouraging home wins against Southampton and Bournemouth before going away to Tottenham.
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They drew 1 – 1 with Spurs, but took heart from the fact they should have won. It looked to set them up perfectly for the vital home game with United the following Sunday. That is until they went away to Rennes in the Europa League.
10-man Arsenal capitulated in France, losing the tie 3 – 1. It looked like a result that exposed all the old frailties. Suddenly, Arsenal fans were not so confident of beating Manchester United at home.
Their 2 – 0 win over UTD on Sunday was the perfect demonstration of their newfound resiliency. The assured win sends them into the top four – just one point behind Spurs. Any Arsenal fan will tell you that a big win against a big team following such a poor result is very special indeed.
Unai Emery is now in a position to get Arsenal back into the Champions League via the league. They might also still progress in the Europa League with a big second-leg performance against Rennes.
If Emery succeeds in returning Arsenal to Europe’s top table, they could be in for a resurgent few years
