Alan Smith: How can Unai Emery lift Arsenal players if they don’t understand him?

Listening to Unai Emery talk publicly for a season and a bit, one big question always rears up. If the media finds him difficult to understand because of a weak grasp of English, if his intended points don’t entirely make sense, what on earth do the players think? Can they possibly be motivated by such confusing rhetoric?

It’s a question worth asking after some wayward displays, most recently at Sheffield United on Monday night. There seems to be a disconnect between pitch and touchline, between players and manager when things need fixing.

Some of that, clearly, comes down to communication, the lack of which inevitably leads to a gap opening up.

Footballers have notoriously short attention spans as it is. So in team meetings that drag on for an hour or more, do Emery’s words lead to confusion?

If they do, and if the Spaniard’s training ground instructions don’t hit the mark either, you do start to wonder how he can possibly educate and inspire this Arsenal squad.

And it is definitely a squad containing plenty of promise. Think of Kieran Tierney, Rob Holding and Matteo Guendouzi. Think of the youth teamers emerging like Joe Willock and Bukayo Sako.

There’s lots of talent there before even mentioning senior stars such as Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette.

There is, in short, plenty to work with. With the right coaching, this group of players could improve a lot to form the backbone of a sturdy unit.

In all fairness, you couldn’t call it sturdy at the moment.

In fact, last night’s exciting comeback against Vitoria Guimaraes in the Europa League typified a fragility that has been around for some time.

Too many players don’t seem to know their jobs. Good habits aren’t being instilled in players crying out for direction. All that, of course, is down to a manager who struggles to communicate on a daily basis.

If that doesn’t change to build more understanding and respect, it is difficult to see any progress being made in Arsenal’s attempts to return to the top.