Unai Emery: Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville split over what Arsenal should do with manager as pressure mounts on Spaniard

Jamie Carragher and Gary Neville are split on how Arsenal should handle Unai Emery’s future with the pressure mounting on the Spaniard following Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Southampton.

Emery’s Arsenal sit eighth in the table, eight points off the top four, with speculation surrounding whether the Gunners will be the latest club to make a change mid-season.

But Carragher and Neville had contrasting views as Arsenal watch on as Tottenham Hotspur attempt to kick-start their season following Jose Mourinho’s arrival.

“Unai Emery hasn’t adapted, he has created confusion. Confusion in the crowd, confusion with his own players, and confusion for himself,” Carragher said on MNF. “The game against Southampton almost sums up the 18 months of Unai Emery. He had three formations at the weekend. Since the start of last season, he has used more players than anyone.

“The biggest one for me, though, is that he’s made changes before half-time or at half-time than anyone. That’s what you would expect a team at the bottom to be doing, scrambling around, trying things. This is a man who predominantly likes to play 4-2-3-1, but look at his formations and how many times he changes it.

“I just look at it and I’m not quite sure what is going on there with Arsenal, and that is why the confusion has been created. I think that’s where the resentment and the aggression from the supporters comes from. They are looking at Tottenham moving a manager on, maybe Manchester United will be doing so shortly, or in the summer, and they don’t want to miss out again.

“At this moment, I don’t think Unai Emery is Champions League level. He’s almost like Europa League level. A great career, what he’s done, but he’s not the level I think Arsenal need.”

Neville made the case for Emery though, comparing Manchester United's problems since Sir Alex Ferguson departed.

“In Spain, his reputation is so high, it’s incredible,” Neville countered. “He’s then gone to Paris Saint-Germain and alright, he didn’t win the ultimate in terms of the Champions League, but to go there and work under that level of pressure, under the owners there who are demanding success like you wouldn’t believe with the investment and the players that he is working with. He has been a brilliant coach.”

“When you have a coach who has a great reputation, who has worked at the highest level and who is struggling as badly as he is, you can’t just think that all of a sudden he’s a terrible coach. There has to be other underlying reasons as to why it’s not happening for him.

Neville believes the Arsenal board are split – and for that reason he thinks Arsenal should hold off making another managerial change.

“You let things breath, you let it play out,” Neville concluded. “You make sure that you ultimately believe in what your original decision was, until a time whereby it becomes really difficult and a point whereby you’re absolutely certain that what you’re going to do is going to bring success and not add to the confusion that is already there.”