Bloody hell, I thought the deal was done. So we’ve only made an offer and he is considering it? Wasn’t he practically ready to sign for Newcastle and then pulled out at the last minute. Not over the line yet.
Is that true fellow FM enjoyer? If so Amorim would probably be denied a work permit as he only has a Continental A rather than the top Continental Pro license.
He definitely tweeted before the odds started to drop. I checked this morning and Emery was 5/1. He’s now 1/6. Correct me if I’m wrong but those are shortest odds since Gerrard was sacked.
Just had a look at some of his setups in his first season with Arsenal, the last 5 games of the 18/19 season:
Valencia: 3412
Brighton: 4312
Valencia: 3412
Burnley: 4231
Chelsea: 3412
Seems to change it quite a bit depending on the opposition, and often went 3 at the back despite it being said he was mainly 4231 with Arsenal.
So, it appears Emery rejected Newcastle simply because Villarreal were in the CL. He was interested in the job, obviously they are only in Europa Conference this season.
Villarreal had the 4th highest average possession last season in La Liga, doesn't sound like a team that always sits back. For comparison Atletico, a team known to sit back and soak up pressure had 8th highest.
Emery is a cup specialist. So, if we win the League Cup, that gets us into Europa Conference. Win that and we are in the Europa League, then if we win that the Champions League. Easy.
That's how he's able to get teams punching above their weight. Leicester also won a league title playing that way. Our greatest ever performance in the NSWE era, the 7-2, most of our goals were mainly counter attacks.