Opposition View: Arsenal

It’s been a whirlwind couple of weeks at the Emirates Stadium. Arsenal fans have finally got their wish with Unai Emery being relieved of his duties last week and former Gunners legend Freddie Ljunberg assuming temporary charge.

Whoever ends up replacing Emery has quite the job on their hands. Arsenal’s squad is lacking in both fight and talent to the point where they’ve only won four Premier League games all season. Forget the Champions League, right now it looks like qualifying for the Europa League might be a struggle.

All of which has led to a mood of quite confidence among Brighton supporters ahead of our trip to the Emirates. The Albion’s record away at the big six since winning promotion is abysmal, with just one point out of a possible 48.

That one point did of course come away at Arsenal back in May. Could we go one better this time and claim a win? We spoke to Stuart from A Cultured Left Foot ahead of the game to find out.

We can’t really start than anywhere other than what happened last week. Were Arsenal right to sack Unai Emery>
Yes, even if the hierarchy came to the conclusion a lot slower than they should have. Josh Kroenke admitted the decision to sack him was taken last Saturday, so why not enact it sooner and give Freddie more time to prepare the players for Sunday? That said, coming so soon after the international break, there are even more questions to be answered over the delays.

As far as Emery’s reign is concerned, he was lurching from one crisis to another. Ultimately, the Granit Xhaka affair underlined his weak man management skills. He needed to act strongly in dealing with the midfielder but let it drift and was too afraid of how the squad would react to be decisive.

On the pitch, we are just horrible to watch, almost hide-behind-the-sofa bad. Capable of occasional flashes of brilliance aside, for the most part we lumbered around, devoid of ideas, creativity and attacking instincts. And that’s with Mesut Ozil on the pitch.

It’s claimed we snatched Emery from Real Sociedad two summers ago. To be honest, it’s very evident that he is not a ‘big club’ coach; Real are definitely the team of his capabilities.

We’ve read conflicting reports about who is to blame with a lot of ire being directed at the players for basically downing tools. Do you think they share in the responsibility for Emery’s departure?

I’m not sure the players downed tools, they are shorn of confidence and in some cases, just not good enough. The fundamental problem is that the squad needs taking apart and reconstructing with a definite plan in mind. We’ve got a group of players bought with Wengerball in mind and asked to play something different entirely, something to which they were completely ill-suited.

That was Emery’s basic problem: he didn’t have a core philosophy around which to build his tweaks and clever plans to outwit the opposition. Instead, he out-thought himself and baffled the players.

What happens next? Who would you like to see taking over at the Emirates?

Who do I see? I genuinely don’t know who the hierarchy want. It won’t surprise me if it is a failed Spanish coach, one who our Head of Football Raul Sanllehi knows or thinks he can control even though he might not be what Arsenal need right now.

Who we need? We need a pragmatist, organiser and one who appreciates that agricultural methods aren’t welcome so sorry Messrs Allardyce and Pulis, we won’t be coming for you. Max Allegri is the obvious choice and Carlo Ancelotti seems to be wanting out of Napoli. Personally, I’m not too keen on Rafa Benitez but I wouldn’t object.

For once, there are several candidates who know English football well. Nuno Espirito Santo has done well at Wolves, Brendan Rodgers at Leicester seems to have quelled the maniacal side of his nature and is succeeding at the King Power. If Eddie Howe can’t get this gig, I sincerely doubt he’s getting any of the big jobs.

There is a lot of goodwill toward Freddie and many still think Mikel Arteta is the man. What will become evident over the next few weeks, I think, is that we need someone experienced. It isn’t a rookie job when the squad needs overhauling.

All of which kind of makes it seem like anyone will do. And to some extent, that is the case as I don’t have a strong favourite beyond Allegri. Which makes him a strong favourite… although knowing our luck, Sanllehi & co will rehire Arsene Wenger.

And what are Arsenal’s realistic expectations going forward for the rest of the season?
There are two schools of thought. If we keep with Freddie, we write off top four ambitions – which I think we should do anyway – and add European football to that list. Take time out to restore confidence without any pressure to succeed and rebuild the squad ahead of next season. Or we go hell for leather with a strong appointment as coach and an open chequebook to support him.

Knowing our owners, they will want the best for as little as possible. If I had to guess, I think they will go for Arteta this time around. I suspect they will look at Sean McVay’s record at the LA Rams and believe Arteta can carry off the same for Arsenal. Ole Gunnar who?

What did you make of our two 1-1 draws last season?
Horror shows on both occasions for us. That’s the kindest I can be about the Arsenal performances at the Amex on Boxing Day and in May.

If you had to sign one Brighton player, who would you take?
I liked what I saw of Neal Maupay at Brentford (which admittedly wasn’t all that much) and he’s adapted quite well by the looks of it. Of course, Lewis Dunk because we are so woefully short of half-decent centre-backs. I wouldn’t sign him, but Mat Ryan seems to have improved this season.

Is this a good time to be playing the Gunners giving the recent upheaval, or will there be a new wave of optimism around the Emirates with Freddie Ljunberg in charge at home for the first time?
I can’t think that there has been a bad time to play us this season. We’ve proven generous hosts and amiable guests. You want to shoot? Feel free! Take another 20 shots whilst you’re at it!

Thursday will see a better atmosphere, probably a fuller stadium than if Emery were in charge but don’t expect everyone to be happy. We’re still mostly crap. Had we won on Sunday, there might have been a ‘bounce’ but I suspect you’ll see a three-quarters full Emirates at best.

What advice would you give Graham Potter for beating Arsenal?
Does he need any? He’s done it once before with Ostersunds, arguably against a better Arsenal team and a better Arsenal manager!

Finally, a prediction for how you see the game going?
It’s a toughie. We’re as bad at home as you are away from home so it could go either way. But my innate pre-match optimism leads me to think we’ll win by the odd goal in three.

Thanks to Stuart for asking our questions. You can read his musing on Arsenal at A Cultured Left Foot (it’s worth it just for the photos the site uses for its reports) and you can also follow ACLF on Twitter.

If you’re looking for a way to watch Arsenal v Brighton, then the game will be shown live on Amazon Prime, which is currently offering a 30 day free trial. That period also covers the Albion’s Boxing Day trip to Spurs, meaning that you can catch both games for nothing – sign up here.