Unai Emery has defended his playing style after Arsenal’s defeat to Manchester City, and suggested he will play the same way against Chelsea.
The Gunners lost 2-0 in Emery’s opening game, with the north Londoners repeatedly attempting to play out from the back.
Petr Cech was almost left embarrassed as a misplaced pass nearly resulted in an own goal, with the likes of Tony Adams and Paul Merson vocal in their criticisms of the new Gunners boss and his side.
Former England manager Sam Allardyce went as far as claiming Emery opted for a “stupid way of playing” against City, but the Spaniard is confident that his players are learning his ways and that he’ll continue to play a passing game.
“Goalkeepers can play like a player, to start short with the centre back or the right or left back,” he said.
“It is not compulsory to start each action that way. Maybe if the opposition is doing high pressing against us, then we need also to find another option and to play the ball long in the second action.
“We are training for each situation. I want in each moment to know what is our best action to do in the match. This is our creative style and idea. We need with security, with confidence, to build in each match and training session. We are in this process.”
Emery also insists that his tactics were not the reason for Arsenal’s defeat to City, though he accepts that they must improve.
“We didn’t lose [against Manchester City] because of our personality, our idea, our style,” he said.
“We didn’t lose for that. We lost on other things, we can improve on other things, tactics, improve for our learning on the next match. But also, we are building our style because we think it’s the best way, to have the control on each match, to find the best way to win.
“It’s clear that when you lose, it’s a bad result. When you win, it’s a good result. For me, this is the resilience I am explaining. It makes me resilient, when you win, when you lose, it must be consistent, you must stay regulated, keep thinking positively every day. You need to take the positive things out of the game to build our identity.”
Following their London derby clash with Chelsea, the Gunners will face West Ham.