Short Term Pain, Long Term Gain: Sky Sports Pundit Makes Arsenal Prediction Following Man City Loss
Football pundit Craig Bellamy has claimed that Arsenal may struggle at first under their new boss Unai Emery, but will start to fire on all cylinders once the squad successfully adapts to their new manager's style of football.
Speaking on Sky Sports following Arsenal's 2-0 loss to Manchester City, via the Express, Bellamy claimed that the Gunners may take some time to adjust to playing under Emery, stating: "It is short-term pain for long-term success. If you go into a football club, you have your ideas. They’re not the worst ideas or else he wouldn’t have been appointed in the first place.
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"He wouldn’t have won the Europa League with Sevilla or Ligue 1 title with PSG. He wouldn’t have done so well at Valencia. He’s a good manager. He’s gone in with his idea and this is how he wants to play. What we’ve seen is the first stage of where he’s at. Usually from watching and knowing his work, he’s someone who likes to play at all costs."
“I’ve been through that stage with coaching. Once you get used to making angles, then you can build up the next stage. So after that you’ll be able to clip over the press. In the next couple of months, Arsenal will be hitting the press and the goalkeeper will be the first line of attack and being able to hit drives and putting forward one-on-one."
The Gunners will be eager to pick themselves up from their opening day loss, but face a tricky trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea on Saturday evening. Arsenal fans would have hoped for an easier run of fixtures to open the season, but there upcoming matches against West Ham and Cardiff City should provide easier opportunities to pick up some precious points.
Meanwhile, Arsenal youngster Ashley Maitland-Niles has been ruled out of action for at least two months, after picking up a fractured fibula against Man City last weekend. Veteran right-back Stephan Lichtsteiner may now start in an unfamiliar position on the left side of defence on Saturday, with the likes of Nacho Monreal and Sead Kolasinac still nursing injuries.
