The five things Unai Emery needs to do improve Arsenal in September

The fixture list did Unai Emery no favours as he was handed Manchester City and Chelsea in the opening weeks of the season. Two defeats and countless defensive errors had supporters on edge already, but a 3-1 win over West Ham settled the nerves – at least for the time being.

Emery’s upheaval of the side’s playing style has been a rocky process and one that will take a lot more time to complete. Meanwhile, there are a handful of things the Spaniard can do to improve his team for next month’s fixtures against Cardiff, Newcastle, Everton and Watford.

Here are five suggestions for Arsenal’s new coach.

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#1 It’s time for Torreira

Arsenal had lacked a quality defensive midfielder for years until Lucas Torreira was signed from Sampdoria. The Uruguayan had a stellar season in Italy and stood out at the World Cup with his intelligent positioning and dogged attitude towards defending. He was the club’s most exciting signing this summer by a distance.

That he started on the bench for their first three games surprised many. Granit Xhaka retained his place, while it was 19-year-old Matteo Guendouzi who was selected as his partner. While the teenager has impressed, Xhaka’s deficiencies remain a concern.

The Swiss midfielder is one the best passers in the side and possesses a fierce long-range shot that occasionally produces exciting results. However, his tendency to foul the opposition after missing a tackle and the ease with which he’s played around means he’s a risky player.

The lack of defensive stability in midfield came to the fore again against West Ham, but was mitigated by the introduction of Torreira.

Torriera has a positional sense and discipline that no other midfielder in the Arsenal squad has. Emery will feel he has several options to form his midfield with, but at this point it surely must be Torreira plus one more. The very balance of the side could depend on it.

#2 Find better protection for Hector Bellerin

Bellerin has had a mixed start to the campaign. He’s been one of the weakest defenders in the team and responsible for several errors, yet he’s also been one of Arsenal’s most effective attackers. He already has two assists to his name.

The right back has been key to Emery’s attacking approach so far. Arsenal have been good at creating space on the right flank for Bellerin to gallop into and produce a ball into the box.

However, this has been a doubled-edged sword. Bellerin's attacking duties leave Arsenal vulnerable in the right back zone and both Chelsea and West Ham have already exploited that.

The solution may be to rein Bellerin in, but this would take away one of their more potent attacking options. Calls for Stephan Lichtsteiner to play instead are understandable, but the Swiss must also provide left back cover after the injuries to Sead Kolasinac and Ainsley Maitland-Niles.

It has to be up to the rest of the team to cover the space, starting with the midfield. It was interesting that Guendouzi was subbed at half-time against West Ham instead of Xhaka. This suggests that the Frenchman hadn’t done a good enough job protecting the defence. His replacement, Lucas Torreira, did a much better job securing that part of the pitch.

There will always be risk involved with flying full backs, but the inclusion of Torreira from now on seems a no-brainer.

#3 Start Alexandre Lacazette

Another surprise has been the benching of Lacazette. The striker seemed to be developing a promising partnership with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, but so far Emery has preferred the latter as his number nine.

While neither have yet to score this season, Lacazette has had a notable impact off the bench. He is more effective at holding up the ball and occupying the opposition centre backs than Aubameyang is. This, in turn, helps create more space in midfield for Arsenal to play with.

Aubameyang has a fearsome record as a striker but has found these last three games to be tough going. Missed chances aside, he’s found it difficult to get involved in games and has been asked to contribute more in the build-up than he’s accustomed to.

Lacazette is a more natural fit for the way Arsenal want to play and should return to the starting line-up.

However, this doesn’t have to be at Aubameyang’s expense.

#4 Play Aubameyang on the left

Playing Aubameyang anywhere else but in the middle feels like a waste but there are good reasons why Emery should consider it.

Arsene Wenger used him as a left-sided attacker last season and it didn’t blunt his goalscoring whatsoever. The Gabonese can make his usual runs and find advantageous positions in the penalty area regardless of where he is on the pitch.

Playing on the flank demands more of him defensively yet Arsenal have a kinder run of games coming up; games where they’ll surely have more of the ball than they’ve had so far. Aubameyang’s defensive burden shouldn’t be that heavy.

At the same time, it will increase the potency of Arsenal’s attack by allowing him and Lacazette to play together.

Aubameyang has said that he’s happy to play wherever if it means he and Lacazette can be on the pitch together. There’s a chemistry between them that could seriously benefit the team if it’s allowed to flourish.

#5 Balance the rest of the attack

It’s looking more and more like it’ll be one of Aaron Ramsey or Mesut Ozil rather than both at once.

Emery regards Ramsey as a number eight or number ten, suggesting that he doesn’t see him playing in a double pivot like he has done throughout most of his Arsenal career.

Indeed, the Welshman played as the number ten against Manchester City and as the most advanced of a midfield trio against West Ham.

This creates a dilemma for Emery as he also has Ozil to fit into his side.

Playing the German anywhere other than the number ten position has yielded mixed results. It’s possible that he could play more on the right side of the attack at the expense of Henrikh Mkhitaryan.

However you look at it, one of Arsenal’s high profile attacking players will have to miss out for the sake of a balanced team.

Ozil’s frequent bouts of illness may make the choice easier on occasion, but the sooner Emery can decide on his optimal starting line-up, the easier it’ll be to integrate his style of play.