In the spring of last year, when Unai Emery was facing up to the immense challenge of taking over from Arsene Wenger and steering Arsenal onto a new path, he found himself thinking back to a phrase he had heard many years earlier from an influential Spanish manager named Javier Irureta.
“What he said is that when something changes, it is in order to change something,” Emery tells Sky Sports. It is eight months later, and in a first-floor meeting room at Arsenal’s London Colney headquarters, he is explaining how he has attempted to apply that wisdom since his appointment.
“When a club changes manager, it is because they want something new,” he says. “The challenge is to identify the good things – the things you have to maintain – but also the things that you have to change and improve. Here, obviously, there were lots of things to change and improve.”
The process is ongoing. Emery has overhauled Arsenal’s approach to training and preparation. He has placed greater emphasis on physical intensity with a commitment to playing out from the back. There has been a 22-game unbeaten run, the club’s longest in over a decade, and even a 4-2 win over north London rivals Tottenham at a buoyant Emirates Stadium.
But lately, optimism has been tempered by frustration. The Premier League table shows Arsenal in fifth, six points off the top four. Their defence appears as vulnerable as ever and there are questions at the other end, too. The recent 5-1 loss to Liverpool was reminiscent of Wenger’s final years in charge. Saturday’s 1-0 reverse to West Ham was another heavy blow and there is also uncertainty off the pitch, with head of recruitment Sven Mislintat set to depart.
‘We knew there were going to be difficulties in this process’
Plainly, Arsenal are not yet where they want to be. There have been no instant fixes to the issues which undermined them in previous years under Wenger. But Emery, enjoying a welcome opportunity to conduct an interview in his native Spanish, is adamant that they are heading in the right direction.
“The adaptation of the club and team is progressing in a positive way. In terms of getting into the Champions League and finishing in the top four, which is our main objective, it is true that we are not there right now. The competitive level is very high.
“But firstly, I believe we have time to achieve that this season. And secondly, we knew there were going to be difficulties in this process. The most important thing is to be aware that the difficulties will come, and at that moment still be able to make progress. That is the idea. The idea is to get Arsenal back to where the club deserves to be, but it needs time.”
There is little patience in modern football, little appetite for a project which does not yield immediate results, but Emery insists the culture in England is unique. He has noted how Wenger was given licence to transform Arsenal in the glittering first half of his tenure. 
“After my experiences in Spain, in Russia and in France, I believe that here, people see football in a very distinct way,” says Emery. “As well as the teams being more competitive and tougher, I believe the fans feel football from the heart. The question of whether you win, lose or draw is very important, but there is always a respect towards football beyond just the result.
“That means you can do a more progressive job, a job based on building from the bottom without only thinking about results, because sometimes, a result can hide solid foundations.
“As a manager, I have always put myself under the pressure of the necessity to win. You know that winning will allow you to either continue what you’re doing or to find another project. And you know that if you lose, they will take the project you already have away from you.
“But at Arsenal, it’s maybe the first time I feel that I have the support to build up from the bottom in order to get where we want to be. It allows us to work more for the long-term – or at least, ‘long-term’ in football terms. It supports the kind of work we want to do at this club.”
‘We are in a transition where we are looking for a balance’
If the first half of the season is anything to go by, Emery will certainly need time to eradicate Arsenal’s defensive frailties. He has not been helped by injuries, nor, perhaps, by the defensive unit his predecessor left behind, but the numbers are still alarming. Arsenal have conceded more goals after 22 Premier League games than in any of their seasons under Wenger.
“There are things we have managed to improve but there are other things that need more time, and defensive consistency is one of them,” says Emery. “We still have a lot of work to do there.”