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When Unai Emery took over from Arsene Wenger at Arsenal, he had a lot of work to do with the players to show his impact on the side tactically. The first thing that he was focused on was building a team that would play a pressing game right from the front line, which was a completely different approach to the game under Wenger.
That new playing style required new training methods and so much work was needed to be done in the training sessions. All those new conditions made few players improve their game under the Spanish tactician, while some failed to shine.
Here are three players who have made the most of this managerial change and have flourished under the Spaniard:
#3 Hector Bellerin
Hector Bellerin started his Arsenal career under Arsene Wenger and the Spanish right-back had a fantastic first season under the French “professor”. He used his pace and energy to run forward from that right-wing, linking up with the likes of Walcott and Ozil.
Later he had a couple of injuries that started his potential decline and in the past 2 seasons, he has seen some poor performances. He was being linked with a move away from the Emirates and the level of his performances had gone done.
This nearly turned him from a big prospect into a player that would be leaving soon, as he couldn’t defend or mark the attacking players on his side of the pitch. Also going forward he just failed to dribble his opponents or get in proper crosses into the box. Crossing the ball and defending became his biggest issues, much like Marcos Alonso now.
Since the summer preparation, he worked hard under his new coach Unai Emery and started the season with a new footballing philosophy. Though he played just half the season prior to his injury, it was Bellerin and Sokratis that eventually took charge in the absence of Koscielny and Monreal.
He managed to run into more spaces and defend better and finally started to cross the ball like a proper right-back. He added a couple of assists to his name and reached his top form to become one of the best right-backs in the league. Though a long-term injury has halted his progress, he is all set to make his return soon.
#2 Sead Kolasinac
Sead Kolasinac has improved his game under the new Spanish coach, with 8 assists to his name and consequently becoming a force to reckon with on Arsenal’s left-wing. He has been linking up so well with Alex Iwobi, where he can stretch defenses and created so many chances to the team.
Kolasinac has had more freedom to push forward and has a big attacking role, especially when he plays at wing-back position using his strength to run past players and cross the ball into the penalty area.
He has helped Arsenal score goals and win games this season, which has made him one of the most dangerous left-backs/left wing-backs going forward in the Premier League this season.
The 25-year-old Bosnian international still needs to work on his defensive game to be more of a complete player, though this transformation under Emery has been a mouth-watering prospect for the fans. Hopefully, he can keep producing more in the business end of the season.
#1 Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang
The Gabonese striker started his new life at Arsenal with 6 months under Wenger, where he scored a good number of goals. We saw how he was like a “fox in the box”, converting many chances into goals which is what he has been doing throughout his career.
Under Unai Emery, Aubameyang continued to score goals and also added that extra work-rate up front to his game. First is about pressing the opponents back trying to force them into making mistakes, in which he helps out the likes of Ramsey and Lacazette to win back the ball.
Secondly, he tries to break their build-up-play and pushing them back to the first defender of the team. His pace helps him do this better than Lacazette, as he is much faster than his team-mate. He also makes moves and runs all the time to prevent defenders from man-marking him, giving him more open space. This gives options to his team-mates in the midfield.
This has allowed Aubameyang to put himself in good position most times, which has, in turn, helped him become one of the top 3 goal scorers in the League this season.
