Arsenal legend urges manager Unai Emery to sign more English talent amid poor start to the season
Arsenal legend Robert Pires has urged the Gunners’ boss Unai Emery to sign more English players to help get the North London side out of their poor form.
Emery’s men are fresh off a 2-2 draw to 19th placed Southampton where Alexandre Lacazette had to score in the 96th minute to grab an equaliser.
Following the draw, Arsenal slip down to 6th place in the Premier League table with Burnley moving up ahead of them.
It has been a third of the way through the season, and the Gunners have only scored 18 goals. They are the only side in the top half of the table to have a negative goal difference.
Former winger Robert Pires has suggested that the Spanish coach could still turn the club’s fortunes around and that signing more English players could help with that.
The Frenchman stated that the squad needs players who are born in the country as they understand the mentality required to succeed in the Premier League and have a mentality that is different to that of someone who is foreign.
Arsenal have struggled for consistency so far this season, with a lot of fans becoming frustrated with the former Paris Saint-Germain manager’s tactics.
However, a number of academy prospects such as Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Joe Willock have been getting their chance under the Spaniard.
Emery will be hoping that they can step up to the task and help turn their dire situation around since the manager is the second favourite to be the next manager to leave the club.
The bookies have the Spaniard at 7/2 to leave his post with only West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini having shorter odds, which is at 3/1.
With the Gunners already 8 points behind the top four positions, the Europa League is the only chance that Arsenal have to make it to the Champions League.
Emery is somewhat of a specialist in the competition, having won the trophy three times in a row with La Liga side Sevilla from 2014 to 2016.
However, with Arsenal, the Spaniard faltered in the final stage, getting embarrassed at the hands of local rivals Chelsea in the final as the Blues put four past the sorry Gunners.
The North London outfit are on track to breeze past the group stages and qualify to the knockout stages of the competition, having won 3 and drawn one game so far.
Emery’s poor league results mean that the former Valencia coach might not be able to see the campaign through.
With the January transfer window drawing closer, he might have to take Pires’ advice and blood some English talent into the squad.
