Pressure ramps up on Unai Emery as Arsenal board are already lining up potential successors
More pressure is mounting on the shoulders of Arsenal manager Unai Emery as the board are already lining up potential successors following the Gunners’ terrible start to the season.
The mood surrounding the Emirates has been one of disappointment as fans of the club are still surprised that the Spaniard is still at the helm of their club.
The former Paris Saint-Germain manager has led his side to 8th place in the Premier League, sitting behind the likes of Wolves, Sheffield United and Burnley.
Their chances of qualifying for the Champions League is looking slimmer as the weeks go by, having already slipped 8 points behind 4th placed Chelsea.
Therefore, the Europa League is looking like the more plausible way of making it to the biggest European competition.
The Gunners are sitting pretty on the top of their group, having won three and drawn one so far. However, they were lucky to get the draw as a late double from Nicholas Pepe saved Emery, a prominent theme throughout this season.
With the Gunners’ terrible start to this campaign, the board are looking at potential replacements.
Odds for Arsenal’s Next Permanent Manager
3/2- Mauricio Pochettino
3/1- Mikel Arteta
4/1- Rafa Benitez
8/1- Massimiliano Allegri
8/1- Patrick Viera
The recently sacked Mauricio Pochettino is one of the favourites to take over the North London side despite having just managed their arch-nemesis Tottenham Hotspur.
The news comes in light of Arsenal’s most recent result where they welcomed 19th placed Southampton to the Emirates, only to battle for a 2-2 draw.
Despite dominating possession, Emery’s side were unable to create many great opportunities whilst the Saints outshot them and had the better chances.
This has been an ongoing theme for Arsenal this season, which has led them to be the only side in the top half of the table to have a negative goal difference.
The 96th-minute equaliser from Alexandre Lacazette, which was his second of the game, gave Emery and his side an undeserved point.
The fans were heavily unimpressed with the performance and result as boos were ringing loudly as the final whistle was blown.
Emery will need to quickly turn the ship around especially considering that he failed to achieve the club’s objectives last season as well.
The Gunners lost three of their last five games of the season to Crystal Palace, Wolves and Leicester where they only needed to secure two points to leapfrog rivals Spurs and finish in the top four.
They also got trounced 4-1 in the Europa League final at the hands of rivals Chelsea meaning that Emery and his squad failed to qualify to the Champions League.
