Ray Parlour believes that Arsenal will not go down the same path as rivals Manchester United in not giving their new manager time to get things right.
Former England midfielder and Arsenal legend Ray Parlour has insisted that his former club will not act in haste, looking for a quick-fix after Arsene Wenger’s departure.
The 45-year old is certain that the Gunners will allow new manager Unai Emery the requisite time to get things sorted at the club, something that was not afforded to David Moyes and Louis van Gaal by arch-rivals Manchester United, post the exit of Sir Alex Ferguson.
The Red Devils still haven’t completely recovered from the Sir Alex’s retirement in 2013, with the club overseeing three managerial appointments in the five years since the Scotsman called it a day. Having appointed Moyes as his successor, United sacked him just seven months into his stint, before letting go of Van Gaal after two years at the helm.
Current manager Jose Mourinho is in his third season at Old Trafford and finds himself staring at the possibility of a sack, after a poor start to the 2018-19 campaign, with Zinedine Zidane’s name doing the rounds as a possible replacement.
However, Parlour believes that Arsenal will learn from United’s mistakes and will allow Emery time to carve out his own niche at the club, following Arsene Wenger’s departure at the end of the last season.
The 45-year old, who won three Premier League titles and four FA Cups with the Gunners, said (h/t Daily Mirror), “Arsenal will give Unai Emery the time to get it right. That’s why I don’t see any parallels with what happened at United after Sir Alex.”
“I can already see the fans are behind Emery, they’ve seen what he is trying to achieve and they will stick with it. The board and people who appointed him will too. We have seen at United that you can’t keep chopping and changing managers. It doesn’t work.”
“If you do that, a new manager comes in and does completely the opposite, and then where do the players stand after learning new methods? It all has to change and you have to start again.”
The former Sevilla and PSG manager took over the reins at Arsenal after Wenger’s 22-year old stint came to an end, and his side are off to a shaky start to the campaign.
The Gunners are currently stationed in the ninth spot in the Premier League table, with two wins from four games, after beating newly promoted Cardiff City 3-2 in a thrilling encounter on Sunday. Arsenal will return to action against Newcastle United after the two-week hiatus due to the international break.
