Despite conceding a late equaliser in their Europa League tie with Vitoria S.C, Unai Emery has suggested Arsenal were “strong defensively” to the surprise of the clubs supporters. Duarte da Silva’s spectacular scissor-kick earned the home side a well-deserved point but Emery’s post-match comments have left fans confused with some labelling the former Paris Saint-Germain boss as ‘comedian’.
Speaking to BT Sport (via James Benge on Twitter), the 48-year-old claimed Arsenal had defended well during the game. He said: “we tried, they are a very competitive team, it was very important to be strong defensively. I think defensively we did better.” Confused? So are the fans…
This man is a comedian
— Andrew da Gunner (@AtuheireA) November 6, 2019
???Emery loves jokes indeed..we were strong defensively,am done with this man
— Kagz Njoroge??© (@njoroge_kagz) November 6, 2019
This man is shaking from fear he knows that we know that he knows he’s finished. All that PowerPoint and Gaszidis nonsense won’t save him now
— Evaly (@Ndeufilwa) November 6, 2019
Conceded a goal and faced 15 shots yet we were strong defensively ?????
— Ammar Mir (@ammarmir03) November 6, 2019
This clown probably watched a different game.
— Duncan Chepkwony (@Danitos1) November 6, 2019
Must say he’s a top troll
— madz1up (@madz1up_) November 6, 2019
What do we think?
Is Emery feeling the pressure and desperately looking to defend his players in the public eye? It certainly seems that way. Vitoria S.C. had 15 attempts at goal, almost double what the Gunners managed and were fully-deserving of the point they were able to salvage.
Arsenal had a 100% record in the Europa League up until Wednesday evening and, although they will be disappointed it no longer stands, they will hardly be losing any sleep over it. Emery’s side are comfortably in charge of Group F and so the draw should not cause any significant damage. The real concern is their poor performances of late and this is the latest in a string of them.