Ray Parlour admits the current coaching regime are not taking things “in the right direction”, with confusion hindering collective efforts
Unai Emery needs to be taking inspiration from Arsenal predecessor Arsene Wenger when it comes to getting the club heading back in the “right direction”, says Ray Parlour.
Questions are being asked of a Spanish coach at Emirates Stadium amid all too familiar struggles for consistency.
It has been suggested that Emery could be on borrowed time, with little progress considered to have been made in north London over the course of the last 18 months.
Parlour believes that is down to a confusing approach from the man calling the shots which has seen no set selection or tactical blueprint drawn up – unlike when Wenger was in charge and a rigid philosophy was put in place.
The former Gunners midfielder told talkSPORT: “Emery doesn’t know his best team and he doesn’t know his best formation, but he should know! You’ve got to work on these formations. Do they work on them?
“[Mesut] Ozil was frozen out and now he’s back in favour, and defensively they’re still not solid enough.
“All these things are not in the right direction for Arsenal at the moment.
“I don’t mind three at the back, but you’ve got to work on it week in, week out in training, so the players know exactly what their jobs are as a team and then we can maybe move up the league.
“He needs to say the formation we’re going to play and stick to it!
“You can’t keep changing systems. At the moment it’s 4-2-3-1, then it’s 4-3-3 and then it’s three at the back, nobody really knows!
“It’s about finding the right formula and then working with the players so they understand how he wants them to play, and then it’s down to them when they cross the white line.
“That’s why Arsene Wenger did so well. He trained you, everyone knew their jobs and then he’d leave you alone and say, ‘on match day it’s down to you’.”
Arsenal, who have slipped eight points off the pace in the bid for a top-four finish in the Premier League, will return to action after the international break with a home date against relegation-threatened Southampton on November 23.
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