Arsenal fans will have been feeling very negative about this Arsenal team in recent weeks, but in this terrible spell, few would have anticipated Saturday afternoon’s game to go so poorly.
Whilst Emery’s results so far at Arsenal have been worse than mixed, in general, Arsenal’s performances at home have been pretty good, especially last season. And so with the visit of 19th placed Southampton, you’d expect a fully fit (bar Ceballos) Arsenal team to win this game comfortably, but from the first whistle, it was anything but comfortable.
Emery again opted to exclude record signing Nico Pepe from the line up, as did he any sort of width, opting for five defenders and two central strikers. No coincidence then that with another change in formation and personnel, a jumbled performance followed.
The Gunners never looked in control of the tie, as they should in home games of this ilk. Southampton had many more clear goalscoring chances than Emery’s men and with two formation changes during the game, it’s clear Emery had no idea of what works best for his team and how to get results. He’s out of ideas – or effective ideas anyway.
It looks like the club will not make a managerial change, even after just 4 Premier League wins in the first 13. But results are not Arsenal’s only concern now, with the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette said to be reluctant to sign new deals under Emery’s management.
Despite it only being November, it’s probably not too early to say that Arsenal’s only hope of Champions League football next season could be winning the Europa League – though that looks a huge long shot in the current state of affairs.
On Thursday the club face Frankfurt, a win could see the Gunners top their group and hand them a favourable draw for the knockout stages.
Arsenal are -115 favorites to take the full three points at home against Frankfurt (+235) on Thursday, feel free to verify whatever changes might happend by visiting at any of the online sports betting options listed at this site which have been reviewed and categorized as top of the industry in terms of security & trust. The Gunners already beat the Germans convincingly (3-0 away) and would be heavier favorites at the Emirates but for a run of bad form domestically. They have just one win in their last eight matches, all competitions. Eintracht – tied for second in Group F – will be desperate for at least a point. Look for the Germans to employ a somewhat conservative strategy and for this match to stay under the total (3.0), despite the Gunners’ recent inability to keep the ball out of their own net.
After that, the Gunners head to Norwich City. With Emery’s terrible away form, it would not be a shock to see Arsenal drop points again in this fixture. You would think if Emery doesn’t manage to get the three points in that game then he would be gone. Then again I thought that about this game against Southampton, and still the Spaniard remains in post.