This weekends results saw a number of Premier League bosses under increasing pressure. West Ham’s Manuel Pellegrini, Everton’s Marco Silva and Arsenal’s Unai Emery are all in precarious situations.
The case of the latter is a curious one. Emery headed to north London as a highly-rated boss, who some saw as the man to fix the problems that Arsenal got themselves into at the backend of Arsene Wenger’s reign.
Emery had enjoyed success with Spanish club Sevilla, winning three Europa League titles before winning Ligue One with big-spending PSG.
Some had vaunted the Spaniard as a top tactician and at the likes of Sevilla, and prior to that Valencia, he had helped build very successful teams on a restricted budget. It is easy to see how the spend-thrift Arsenal hierarchy believed Emery to be a good option for them.
The problem is that the team has gone backwards under the 48-year-old this season. His first season saw a modicum of progression from the team, as they reached the Europa League final and narrowly missed out on the Premier League top-four.
However, this season the old frailties of the team have been on full display. The biggest one is the Gunners inability to keep the opposition out.
The team from north London have failed to keep a clean sheet in nine games in all competitions. This was the case in the latter seasons under Arsene Wenger too. They had a soft centre, which opposition teams exposed and that is happening on an even more regular basis in the current campaign.
Many Arsenal fans are surprised that Emery has lasted as long as he has at their club. A 2-2 draw at home to Southampton was another result has not helped Emery’s cause.
For now, Unai Emery is the Arsenal head coach. However, the Gunners results have just not been good enough and the club’s hierarchy can only ignore the fans for so long before replacing the Spaniard.