This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
Speaking on talkSPORT, Darren Bent has claimed Arsenal manager Unai Emery “hasn’t got a clue”.
What did he say?
The Gunners have endured a miserable start to the current campaign, finding themselves in eighth in the Premier League table with just 18 points collected from their opening 13 games.
And with speculation mounting over his long-term future at the club, Bent has delivered a damning verdict on the Spaniard’s tumultuous reign.
He said: “I don’t think he has a clue. To be honest, when people start tinkering and all this stuff here, it is because they have no idea what to do next. So they are kind of hoping to stumble across something that works and they go ‘Yeah I wanted to do this, so I’ll stick with it from now’.
“But because the players aren’t performing well in any system that he plays, that’s why he’s trying to play one thing one week and playing someone else there the next week. Because he hasn’t a got settled team because, tactically, I don’t think he knows quite what to do.
“But you can just see by Arsenal’s run. If they can’t beat Southampton at home, who are struggling this season, then what exactly is he doing in training? He doesn’t know what to do at the back, so for me there has got to be a change sooner rather than later.”
Too much pragmatism
When things go well with the approach Emery adopts, then it can be seen as very stout pragmatism. But when things go awry as they have done for the entirety of this season, then it just looks like a mish-mash of tactics, with no clear direction or purpose to anything that you do.
The Arsenal manager once again opted for his three-at-the-back formation against Southampton on Saturday afternoon, and it still failed to look anything like a comfortable defence. The Gunners conceded a whopping 21 shots to a side that are 19th in the Premier League table. As Bent suggests, it really does feel like Emery “hasn’t got a clue”.
Meanwhile, have a read of why Emery’s stance on Granit Xhaka is another monumental failure