Premier League 2018/19: 2 things we learnt about Arsenal from their game against Leicester City
When Unai Emery took over as Arsenal manager, he was so clear about what he wanted to bring to the club.
In one of his opening remarks, after his being unveiled, he said "I love the analysis, and going through the whole match like a movie. Then I work through all the situations"
“The objective is to work hard together and with these talented players,” he said. “It’s very important for the club, after two years outside the Champions League, to work to be the best team in the Premier League.”
Apparently, the team has been working hard and the football world is seeing the fruits of Emery's hard work. The team has won 10 consecutive matches in all competitions for the first time since October 2007.
The game against Leicester brought two things to the fore.
#1 Emeryball is gaining ground
Aaron Ramsey's goal against Fulham was being touted as the Goal of the Season competition already. However, the Gunners' third on Monday, might have them thinking if that should be the best. Alex Iwobi was the only player not to touch the ball in the build-up.
Twenty-one seconds and nine passes after Bernd Leno had the ball at his feet, Aubameyang was converting a superb Mesut Ozil cross. From back to front, with 14 passes and a dummy, Arsenal's third goal in the 3-1 win over Leicester was simply superb.
Mesut Ozil was at the centre of the move midway through the second half, with a fine flick in midfield, followed by a dummy and eventual assist for substitute Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang to turn home into an empty net.
The quick transition of this Arsenal team from defence to attack is sensational since Unai Emery took over. The likes of Alex Iwobi, Henrikh Mkhitaryan, Mesut Ozil and Alex Lacazette was very quick on the break especially in the second half which caused Leicester City lots of problems yesterday.
The precision and purposefulness of this swift counter attacking football left everyone breathless and it is just an obvious sign of the team progress under Emery.
The team also had a huge desire to win the ball back quickly anytime they lost it. In the second half especially, they won a lot balls from the opposition because of that desire which led to some goalscoring opportunities. This is definitely Emeryball at work!!!
#2 Emery's tactical intelligence is supreme
As seen for most parts of this season, Unai Emery's substitutions have always paid off. One thing that strikes most Arsenal fans is his swiftness to make the substitutions without delay.
Pierre Emerick Aubameyang has come off the bench in consecutive games to score a brace against Fulham and Leicester City.
Yesterday, Emery could see that Lichtsteiner was getting weaker as the game wore on and quickly pulled the Swiss international out of the game and shifted Xhaka to play in that position and brought on Aubamyang who provided more width in the attack for the gunners especially with the absence of Nacho Monreal.
This tactical tweak yielded instant result as the Gabonese international came on to seal the game for Arsenal. This is a quality of a top-class coach and would help the gunners during the course of the season.