By Brian Bariyo Tumuramye
The end is nigh for Unai Emery, Arsenal are expected to relieve the Spaniard of his duties shortly after Emery’s 18 month reign hit a nadir on Thursday night with a 2-1 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in front of one of the lowest crowds in the history of the Emirates Stadium.
Freddie Ljungberg is set to be appointed as caretaker, starting with Sunday’s trip to Norwich.
The Gunners are enduring their worst run of form since 1992 and are winless in seven games. The patience of the Arsenal hierarchy has vanished. Fans are united in their demand for him to go. Players are bemused by his tactics.
An announcement from the Emirates Stadium could well come today and you can join our senior reporter James Benge for reaction to the Frankfurt defeat and a discussion over what comes next.
I’m sure that Arsenal would want to at least talk to Pochettino about the vacancy. Why wouldn’t they? He’s one of the finest managers in Europe and no-one with any connection to the Gunners wouldn’t relish stealing away another Spurs hero.
Having said that I cannot imagine Pochettino committing what would feel like a brutal betrayal. This is the Premier League where the impossible seems to occur on a weekly basis. But when you see the affection the Argentine has for Tottenham it’s hard to envisage him heading down the Seven Sisters Road.
Thanks for asking Anton! Obviously this is one of the many thrills of this job but I have to admit at times like this it’s rather draining, not least because I didn’t sleep last night. I was certain the news would be coming this morning and was terrified I’d oversleep or Arsenal would make the announcement at 5am.
Otherwise though there’s an awful lot more to be excited about – the hunt for a new manager, Ljungberg showing what he can do and plenty to dig into from the events of the past few days. That six hour round trip to Norwich looks a lot more bearable now!
Players did not understand the instructions Emery gave to them – they even openly admitted that on occasions. It was clear Emery could not always get his message across clearly enough and in press conferences his limited grasp of the English language neither one him any extra friends nor allowed him to get his message across easily.
I have to say I thought it was utterly bizarre that over the summer he opted to do without a translator. There is a degree to which Emery’s commitment to English must be admired and he worked incredibly hard at it. But ultimately he ought to have been self-aware enough to realise that the messages he was trying to pass on simply weren’t getting through.
Freddie Ljungberg will succeed Unai Emery as Arsenal head coach albeit on an interim basis for now. Here, we track the rise through the Gunners setup that has brought the club legend to the Emirates dugout.
