Emery: West Ham Match Is Must Win For Arsenal

Arsenal manager Unai Emery insists that the Gunners’ match against West Ham on Saturday in the English Premier League is a “must win” game.

Emery became the first Arsenal manager to lose his first two games in charge since Steve Burtenshaw after defeats to Manchester City and Chelsea.

“We are going to play 38 matches. Whether you are playing against Manchester City, it’s the same as if you’re playing against West Ham on Saturday,” Emery said during his pre-match press conference held on Thursday.

“After the first two matches, we have two defeats and we need to win this match against West Ham.

“We are thinking in our way and about our work to create our ideas and our system on Saturday with our supporters at the Emirates.

“Saturday is another match, tactically it will be different.

“It will be demanding and I want to have more control to find the win in this match. We are working on different situations tactically.

“In the first, we are playing with four at the back, then we have two and one, and one and two.

“With two and one, it is like a 4-2-3-1 and one, two, is for a 4-1-4-1 or a 4-3-3. We have players who train in this system. The moment on the pitch is different. If we need to improve in this mobility, the quality is very important, but also how the player is moving on the pitch.

“I think with two systems, we can continue to progress and think about winning the next match.”

Emery also reveals that France defender Laurent Koscielny has returned to training at Arsenal after recovering from an Achilles operation.

“He’s working very hard. First he was in France. He came back to us last Sunday. We are happy to have him here with us, because he’s our captain and he’s showing us his spirit to stay with us.

“We need to be patient with him because the injury was an important injury. It’s clear that it’s very important to stay with us, working here and showing us that he wants to help us.”

The former PSG and Sevilla manager also explains his team’s new style of play despite suffering back-to-back defeats.

“My idea is first control, but the opposition want the same,” he said.

“With this control, you can be near to the win and then know when you need to change the rhythm. I know we need intensity in every moment in the games.

“This control is to not let the opposition play. For example in the two first matches, we didn’t have the control [enough – only in some moments, but not like what we need to find to win.”