On Saturday, Arsenal plays at Manchester City. It’s entirely possible it could lose even if it plays well, and there’s been nothing so far to suggest it is likely to play well. If it does lose, that will be three defeats in a row to start the season before heading into the international break. The cycle is repeating again.
It has been 20 months since Unai Emery was sacked as a figure of widespread derision. Players, we were told, struggled to understand his tactical instructions. His record at Spartak Moscow and Paris Saint-Germain was held against him. Here was a manager, it was said (not entirely unreasonably), who was fine for an upper mid-table Spanish side but struggled everywhere else.