Emery wants Arsenal to play with style

© Adam Davy/PA Wire


New Arsenal head coach Unai Emery wants his team to play with style and personality this season.

The Spaniard has taken over at the north London club following the departure of long-serving manager Arsene Wenger.

Arsenal have been continuing their pre-season preparations in Singapore, where they face Europa League holders Atletico Madrid and also Paris St Germain, Emery’s former team, as part of the International Champions Cup.

Speaking at an Emirates business lunch, Emery gave an insight into just how he expects his players to approach the start of the new Premier League campaign, which begins against champions Manchester City on August 12.

“Each match, you are looking for every player to transmit intensity, aggression, to show that they want to win and are prepared to work hard to win. We want to do that with style, with a personality, with protagonists on the pitch,” Emery said, quoted on the club’s official website.

“We want every player to create things and find things when they’re on the ball. When we are without the ball, we also want to show ambition to recover the ball quickly.

“We want to demonstrate that not only in every match, but also in every training session.

“We want our players to be energetic, full of action with or without the ball and as protagonists on the pitch doing things.”

Looking ahead to the visit of City, Emery added: “With all the energy of the players and the supporters, we know we can start the season with a big performance against a big team.”

Mesut Ozil has been focusing on club matters with the Gunners, joining up on the tour as he returned from an extended break after the World Cup.

On Sunday, the midfielder announced his decision to retire from international football. Ozil accused the German Football Association of treating him with “racism and disrespect” in the fall out from the emergence of a photograph featuring the player with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Subsequently, the GFA expressed regret over Ozil’s decision to call time on his international career, but denied any allegations of racism.

Arsenal have yet to make any official comment on the situation. However, on Monday a post from their official Twitter account reinforced the club’s commitment to diversity.