It was a statement of the obvious but Unai Emery felt it needed stressing. “There is a new way, a new process,” said the Spaniard several times on Friday at the press conference held to preview Sunday’s meeting at the Emirates with Manchester City, Emery’s first Premier League match in charge of Arsenal and the club’s first for 22 years under a manager other than Arsène Wenger.
If Emery had been hoping for a gentler introduction he was not letting on. “It is very exciting, a great match to start with,” he said. “We have a lot of ambition to start [well] against the last winners of the Premier League.”
Emery speaks English far from fluently but his command of the language has improved since his appointment in May and he hopes his team have made similar strides during the summer. He spoke of the need for Arsenal to show fresh energy and a keen understanding of his tactics, and for supporters to rally around the new approach. “We want to show our quality, or work in this month tactically and our spirit. I want to be together with the supporters to start a new way with the same players, also some new players, and with a new coach and new staff.”
Emery also announced his choices as club captains. He said on his arrival that he would appoint five players to the role because he wanted a wide spread of leadership throughout the team, and on Friday he revealed he had plumped for Laurent Koscielny, Petr Cech, Aaron Ramsey, Granit Xhaka and Mesut Özil.
Those are curious picks. Despite his emphasis on a new way, the manager’s selections represent an expression of confidence in players who have been at Arsenal for years during which the team has been accused of suffering from a chronic lack of leadership.
Koscielny will serve as “No 1 captain” but is likely to be out of action until the new year because of injury. Cech’s place in goal is threatened by the new signing Bernd Leno. The temperaments of Xhaka and Özil have been questioned in the past but Emery evidently believes that assigning them more responsibility – even if only symbolic – might help to inspire them.
Ramsey’s commitment to Arsenal has not yet resulted in him signing a new contract to replace the one that expires next year but Emery said “it is important he stays with us” and ruled out the possibility of the Welshman leaving for a European club before the end of the continental transfer window this month. The Spaniard said that three Arsenal players may depart during that period: Carl Jenkinson, Joel Campbell and David Ospina.
As for the news that Stan Kroenke is to take sole ownership of Arsenal after buying out Alisher Usmanov’s shareholding, Emery said he did not envisage that having any negative impact on his ability to do his job as manager. “I met the Kroenke family in Atlanta and he gave us his commitment in this project with Arsenal,” he said. “For me it’s positive and his commitment is for me, to Arsenal, the most important.”
Emery refused to set any target for his debut season, saying his team’s potential will be revealed over time. “The matches will give us the information about our level,” he said. “But we want to play with the idea of building a winning mentality. We are only thinking about the first three points against Manchester City.”
Arsenal were walloped 3-0 at home by City twice in one week last season – first in the EFL Cup, then in the league – and Emery, who has previously managed Almería, Valencia, Sevilla and Paris Saint-Germain, has never beaten a side run by Pep Guardiola. But he says he has always enjoyed the challenge.
“His career as a player is bigger than mine and his career as a coach is also bigger than mine. But I like to play more against him because it’s demanding for your preparation, to try to win against his teams. When we were in Spain, each match against Barcelona was very exciting and demanding. It’s for that reason that Sunday is the same for me here. My first message is clear. Enjoy the challenges of each match. I am looking every day and the players are smiling in training with a big collective spirit. They are working and finishing tired but with a smile also on their face. My message for Sunday is optimism.”