Adrian Durham invents ingenious new nickname for Unai Emery and claims Arsenal fans were given a ‘reality check’ by Liverpool
Adrian Durham referred to Arsenal manager Unai Emery as ‘Unai Wenger’ for lacking courage at Anfield on Saturday.
The Gunners were comfortably beaten 3-1 by Liverpool at Anfield on Saturday, with Lucas Torreira’s late strike proving to be no more than a consolation. Heavy defeats away to far superior teams became a feature towards the end of Arsene Wenger's 22-year reign.
And Durham took umbrage with the tactics deployed by the Spaniard on Merseyside, with the visitors falling apart somewhat in the second half after Joe Matip had scored.
The Arsenal defence has come under intense scrutiny already this season, with the addition of David Luiz proving to be a hindrance at this moment in time.
And the Drivetime host believes there is only one way for Emery to start approaching games against superior opposition now.
“There’s a couple of things I want to say about who I am now calling ‘Unai Wenger’,” Durham said.
“He plays a diamond when Liverpool have got the most brilliant wing-backs/full-backs in the Premier League, possibly Europe.
“And he decides that is a good system to go with, it’s extraordinary. There’s no one-to-one coaching going on with David Luiz; I actually could not believe some of the things he was doing in that second half, extraordinary stuff.
“The thing about Unai Wenger as well is that he had no courage in his selection. You’ve got those strikers, you’ve got a very shaky defence, I still don’t think their midfield is right.
“So just try and outscore the opposition – that’s what I said in pre-season – they’re going to try and outscore the opposition. Absolutely amazing.”
Dani Ceballos started the game at Anfield, but was overwhelmed by the swarming pressure of the Liverpool ‘gegenpress’.
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The Real Madrid midfielder enjoyed a sparkling debut against Burnley last weekend, with Durham remains convinced the Spain international had much to prove.
But that does not mean he thinks Arsenal will miss out on the Champions League places once again this season.
“Ceballos was brilliant last week, the statue is on hold this week,” he added. “And we all knew it wouldn’t last, you’re going to have a good game every now and then.
“But it’s a reality check for Arsenal fans. I expect them to make the Top Four, but not because they are brilliant.
“It’s probably because Man United have still got a lot of problems and Chelsea have got a rookie manager in terms of Premier League and top flight.
“And Spurs have got their own problems as well so I expect Arsenal, by default, to get in there.
“But there wasn’t a lot to love on Saturday.”