Looking through some stats, I thought it an interesting distraction to have a gander at the players Unai Emery picked the most often this season to see if I could make a first XI.
Just 16 players have featured in 10 or more matches this season for Arsenal and while the stats I’m about to deliver also include Freddie Ljungberg’s first game, excuse me for not excluding that because it seemed more trouble than it was worth.
The five who don’t make this first XI can be the subs: Gabriel Martinelli, Bukayo Saka, Granit Xhaka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles and Alexandre Lacazette.
Now, to Unai Emery’s preferred XI.
You can scroll through the gallery, ordered from most games to fewest for Unai Emery’s first choice XI or, if you’ve no such thing as an attention span any more due to the way our brains have been rewired by technology, you can skip on down below to get an over view.
- SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 21: Matteo Guendouzi of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Arsenal FC at Bramall Lane on October 21, 2019 in Sheffield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
- NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 11: Arsenal player Joe Willock in action during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on August 11, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
- LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 24: Lucas Torreira of Arsenal in action during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Arsenal FC and Vitoria Guimaraes at Emirates Stadium on October 24, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
- LONDON, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 03: Dani Ceballos of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s fourth goal during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Arsenal FC and Standard Liege at Emirates Stadium on October 03, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 28: Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang of Arsenal celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League group F match between Arsenal FC and Eintracht Frankfurt at Emirates Stadium on November 28, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)
- Arsenal’s French-born Ivorian midfielder Nicolas Pepe takes a free-kick to scores his team’s second goal during their UEFA Europa league Group F football match between Arsenal and Vitoria Guimaraes at the Emirates stadium in London on October 24, 2019. (Photo by Glyn KIRK / AFP / Getty Images)
- MANCHESTER, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 30: David Luiz of Arsenal during the Premier League match between Manchester United and Arsenal FC at Old Trafford on September 30, 2019 in Manchester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
- LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 02: Sokratis Papastathopoulos of Arsenal acknowledges the fans after the Premier League match between Arsenal FC and Wolverhampton Wanderers at Emirates Stadium on November 02, 2019 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
- NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 11: Arsenal goalkeeper Bernd Leno reacts during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Arsenal FC at St. James Park on August 11, 2019 in Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)
- LONDON, ENGLAND – SEPTEMBER 24: Calum Chambers of Arsenal battles for the ball with Jack Robinson of Nottingham Forest during the Carabao Cup Third Round match between Arsenal FC and Nottingham Forrest at Emirates Stadium on September 24, 2019, in London, England. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
- SHEFFIELD, ENGLAND – OCTOBER 21: Sead Kolasinac of Arsenal reacts during the Premier League match between Sheffield United and Arsenal FC at Bramall Lane on October 21, 2019 in Sheffield, United Kingdom. (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
For the overview, I wondered if I should try and arrange them the way Emery would or like a sane person.
I’ll let you decide which option I went for:
On paper, that’s not a bad team if you completely ignore the back line.
Offensively, it’s not too shabby.
But, of course, as we know, football matches aren’t won on paper.
And, thanks to Emery, they aren’t won on the pitch either, at the minute.