In September, shortly after Unai Emery’s reign at Arsenal began, I asked six questions that I then totally forgot about.
Coming across the article again, I thought it time we have a look to see if he has answered any of those questions satisfactorily in his first season.
How should Lacazette and Aubameyang be used?
Frequently would seem to be the answer to this.
The pair have 43 goals and 20 assists between them this season and while Emery has handed more minutes to Aubameyang (3,499 to Laca’s 3,057) it has been the Frenchman who has really impressed, as evidenced by his selection as Arsenal player of the season.
The pair are real-life friends and that shows on the pitch, so how should they be used?
Together.
Who should play in goal?
Petr Cech started the season as first choice to the surprise of almost everybody.
Cech struggled with passing out from the back as dictated by Emery’s style and there were constant calls for Bernd Leno to be made number one.
That eventually happened – the German has played 34 games for Arsenal this season to Cech’s 20 and is one of only six players to play 30 or more Premier League games this season under the Spaniard.
There is no argument that from the keepers at the club, Leno is the one who should play in goal.
How will we get the best from Torreira?
Another who arrived in the summer and was used sparingly initially, Lucas Torreira’s first few games in an Arsenal shirt were impressive cameos from the bench.
Since then, however, he has grown into his role in the middle of the park and, alongside Granit Xhaka, provides the perfect defensive foil for the Swiss ball-sprayer.
Only six players have more minutes this season for Arsenal than Torreira who is just 18 minutes shy of 3,000 for the season.
Emery worked out that the best way to get the best from Torreira was to play him.
How can the defence be fixed?
We still don’t know the answer to this question.
Where should Ozil be used?
Not away from home would seem to be Emery’s answer to this question, although the German has been on more away trips recently.
Has he been injured for large parts of the season? Did he and Emery have a falling out? Did Ozil suffer from the tumultuous summer that basically saw Germany turn on him?
Perhaps, perhaps, perhaps.
In September I said it felt like Mesut needed to get stuck into a run of games to put off-field events behind him and he hasn’t really been able to do that. Before missing the game against Leicester with a bruised foot he had managed to feature in nine games in a row, his best run of the season by some distance, but he only played the full 90 in three of those games.
His return has reflected the bitty nature of his season with just six goals and an incredibly poor three assists in all competitions.
Given Ozil wants to stay, and I hope he does, we can expect much, much more from the German next season.
Do we need to make signings in January?
We did and we tried, bringing in Denis Suarez to sit on the Arsenal bench for a few months before sending him back to Barcelona again.
What we really needed was a competent central defender but we didn’t get one and suffered for it.
Let’s hope the summer brings us better luck.