Ben Guest
Unai Emery has admitted that his Arsenal side aren’t feeling 100% confident following their recent form and has urged the clubs fans to back the players.
Arsenal are without a win in their last five Premier League fixtures, their latest disappointment seeing them drop points to a struggling Southampton side at the weekend, Ralph Hassenhuttl’s side creating chances at will throughout Saturday’s encounter.
The Gunners are back in action on Thursday, facing Bundesliga side Eintracht Frankfurt in the Europa League, and with boos having rung out at the Emirates at the weekend, under-fire boss Unai Emery called for the fans to ‘connect’ with the fans.
“We know our supporters are disappointed but we have the opportunity tomorrow to come back that reaction in Emirates with our supporters, to connect with them. It’s really, really our focus,” Emery said at Wednesday’s pre-match press conference.
“I know some teams are coming here fearless, playing fearless against us. We need also to be strong with our supporters. We need to connect with them, to show them.
Incredible that Southampton haven't won that. Arsenal utterly abject again.
21 shots for Southampton, 12 for Arsenal.
Absolutely awful.
— Charles Watts (@charles_watts) November 23, 2019
“My wish is tomorrow the supporters, every supporter helps the team and helps the players. We need them. In 90 minutes I want to connect with them. Above all my wish is to connect with them, their support to us every player. That is the connection we need to show in our stadium.”
Emery – along with Everton’s Marco Silva and West Ham’s Manuel Pellegrino – is among the red hot favourites to be the next top-flight manager to face the sack, though the Spaniard insisted that he is focussed on delivering improved results, while admitting that his players’ confidence has been knocked by recent performances.
“I know some doubt is coming about that result but my objective is to change that and to come back with a good performance and connecting with the supporters. Above all the players connecting with the supporters, the supporters help the player. That is my wish. For me it is to support them.
“The players are working every day with big commitment and behaviour. Some players are not feeling with the confidence now 100%. It is the first target we need: feel confident. In the Emirates, we need to feel strong with our supporters.
“We will feel that we will take our confidence and performance better than opposite.”
Wolves boss Nuno emerges as a ‘leading candidate’ to replace Emery at Arsenal
See also – Five of the worst goalkeepers in Premier League history