Unai's up and coming Arsenal or Sarri's sporadic Chelsea?

As we reach another international break, the race for survival, the title and the top 4 are as hot as we have seen for quite some time. With Fulham and Huddersfield needing a miracle to survive, Cardiff, Burnley and Southampton are all fighting to stay out of the relegation zone. At the top, Liverpool and Manchester City are neck and neck with each other and due to Tottenham going into free fall, or as some might call it "doing a Tottenham", and the final 2 spots for the illusive Champions League qualification are still up for grabs. Arsenal seemingly have the easiest run in to the end of the season without having to face a top 6 opponent again however Spurs, United and Chelsea all have 2 more top 6 sides to face. Due to losing 2-0 to Everton, Chelsea missed out on the chance to join Arsenal on points after their game in hand leaving Chelsea 3 points off the Top 4. 7 or 8 games remain depending on which teams have a game in hand and anyone who would predict the outcome of this seasons Premier League would require a lot of bravery!

2 of this seasons new managers, Unai Emery of Arsenal and Maurizio Sarri of Chelsea, have had big impacts on their respective clubs. Emery led Arsenal on a 22 unbeaten run from the start of September through till December, in the process picking up points against Liverpool and United as well as winning his first North London Derby 4-2 in one of the games of the season. 

Continuing his excellent record in the Europa League from previous jobs, Emery has led Arsenal to a Quarter-final tie against Italy's high flying Napoli. It is safe to say too that Emery has done a stellar job in bringing the love back to the club after the toxicity within the fanbase during Wenger's last months in charge. He has found no trouble in turning the players into a team as well as bringing out the best in them. Under Unai Emery, the striking combination of Alex Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has proved pivotal in his first season with the pair scoring a total of 29 league goals with 11 assists.
The two seem to be Unai's best men for the job however one thing that must be mentioned is the improvements on the defensive side of things. Last year Arsenal showed vulnerability at the back but with the arrival of Sokratis Papastathopolous, the men in Red have displayed their togetherness, especially in recent weeks among which they put in a top performance away to Tottenham, only to be robbed of the 3 points and clean sheet by some shocking refereeing decisions. The fans seem to love what he has done for the club and how the players seem to want victory more than they used to; Unai could be on track for a hell of a first season to the Premier League.


Maurizio Sarri has not had it as plain sailing though. He joined Chelsea following the departure of Antonio Conte, a man who in his two year spell won the FA Cup and the League title. At the start of the season, Chelsea were flying high with the big boys, staying unbeaten for the opening 13 games, picking up a win against Arsenal on matchday 2. However, Chelsea fell back down to reality after an embarrassing performance away to Spurs at Wembley, losing 3-1. This was the start of Chelsea's collapse as a season. A few months later they lost 2-0 at the hands of Unai Emery's Arsenal, which sparked Sarri to say 'this group of players are extremely difficult to motivate'. 

Having gone away from home to their two biggest London rivals and lose in such a convincing manner left Sarri no choice but to call out his players. The comment caused havoc around Chelsea and parallels were being drawn to the fall out he was having with the players to the one Mourinho had a few years ago. Since then, we saw Chelsea losing 4-0 away to Bournemouth as well as 6-0 away to Manchester City. The attitude players have on away days clearly is a big issue Sarri will have to rectify by the end of the season in order to get into the Top 4. Chelsea did go on an all but successful Cup run, albeit in the Carabao Cup; beating Tottenham on penalties in the semi-final at the Bridge proving the highlight of the campaign. They were up against Man City in the final, worthy winners in many eyes. However, Chelsea put up a great fight showing resilience and desire but failed to get a goal before it went to penalties. In the final seconds on extra-time, Sarri decided to use one of his tricks he might have preempted. He was about to bring substitute keeper Willy Cabellero on to replace Kepa, the number 1, as Cabellero has an astounding penalty saving record. Kepa refused to leave the pitch even after being confronted by David Luiz leaving Sarri amazed and looking like such a fool. In the shootout, Kepa ironically missed a very easy save which could have led to a Chelsea victory, giving Sarri his first ever major trophy as a manager. 

This put even more significance on Chelsea's progression in the Europa League as it could turn out to be a Chelsea vs Arsenal or Napoli final, the significance of a Napoli tie being that it was his former club. It is clear to the naked eye that Sarri has had many difficulties in his first season, but he seems to have put that behind him in order to get the best out of this group of players, afterall, he's going to be stuck with them for quite some time due to Chelsea's transfer ban!

As it stands, Arsenal sit 3 points clear of Chelsea, with both still being in the Europa League. The season is far from over with lots of games to change the dynamic in London, but up until now, it seems that the effect Unai Emery has made on the club and the fan-base has been terrific for Arsenal whereas Sarri's for Chelsea seems less so. We still might be yet to see the defining moments in the season with the Europa League hotting up and sone huge Premier League fixtures for both.