Overall, in the big picture, what Unai Emery has done so far this season at Arsenal FC is astounding. Certainly a rebuilding project to say the least, Emery has the Gunners in the thick of the top four race, and briefly looked like Premier League title contenders. In October, Arsenal FC saw their winning streak snapped, just three games shy of the club record.
However, Sunday saw the Gunners falling behind at home to the newly promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers, and needing a very late goal from Henrikh Mkhitaryan to salvage a point from the affair. That makes three consecutive draws in league play for the Gunners, who are now eight points adrift of first place Manchester City.
After their last league win, 3-1 over Leicester City on October 22, the Gunners were just two points behind City. Maybe the international break will be the best thing for them, as it could serve as a restart.
“We know they are a competitive team,” Emery said after the draw today. “For us, we were continuing to take risks when we were drawing and conceded chances. We are not happy with the point but recognize they work well.”
Emery described what he said at half time to get the team going in the second half, where they were eventually able to rally and salvage a point from a potentially disastrous result.
“We spoke about how it was difficult to break their lines defensively and their transition was very good.We didn’t want the second goal but our idea changed a little because we needed to take more risks. We needed good balance in the transition.”
“The team played with character, we had chances to draw level before and also for continuing to look to win the match.”
Sunday’s result means that Arsenal FC have only one win in their last matches across all competitions, and that was a very tightly contested League Cup clash against Blackpool, a side in League One, the third tier of English football. Perhaps this break will be just what the doctor ordered to help the north London side get their groove back.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, regularly appears as a guest pundit on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
He also contributes sociopolitical essays to Lineups.com and Chicago Now. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram. The content of his cat’s Instagram account is unquestionably superior to his.