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Blame in such circumstances rarely lies in one place and one place alone, but the first person to pay the price is nearly always the manager. As Arsenal’s post-Wenger drift goes on – down to sixth and without a win in the league since the beginning of October – the sense is that Unai Emery is approaching a crucial period.
Arsenal’s next four league games are against Southampton, Norwich, Brighton and West Ham. The club hierarchy continues to brief that Emery still enjoys the faith of the director of football Raul Sanllehi and the technical director Edu but unless this next month brings significant improvement and enhances Arsenal’s hopes of Champions League qualification, the likelihood is a new manager will be brought in before the January transfer window.