Wolves defying fears of Europa League slump, Harvey Barnes shows Leicester’s potential and Unai Emery’s woes deepen
One of Unai Emery’s buzz phrases nowadays regards the need to form a “connection” with the
Arsenal fans. It has crept into his lexicon to the extent there would be no surprise if he was repeating an edict handed down from up high, and it certainly would be among the reasonable criteria against which to measure his performance. The club’s hierarchy will surely have noticed the response to Alexandre Lacazette’s equaliser against Southampton amounted to little more than a collective shrug, and things simply cannot continue this way for much longer. The danger is many around the Emirates have made up their minds what they think of a manager who just cannot get a tune out of his squad. The international break should have helped a stuttering team to reset; instead it was only an excellent Southampton side who took that opportunity. Emery’s demeanour after the match, when he readily lamented that a big chance to begin bonding with the support had been thrown away, suggested he knows he may not have many more. Nick Ames