Jack Wilshere Thinks Arsenal 'Fans Will Be Happy' with Unai Emery's First Season

Jack Wilshere thinks Arsenal supporters will be pleased with the club's performance during Unai Emery's first season in charge, regardless of indifferent results in the Premier League recently. 

Wilshere left the Gunners last summer after Emery had been hired to replace Arsene Wenger in the dugout. An injury plagued campaign with West Ham United has allowed Wilshere to keep tabs on his former team, and he's been impressed with Emery's efforts, despite the Gunners wasting several opportunities to finish in the top four and return to the UEFA Champions League.

Speaking to Sky Sports on Monday, Wilshere said:

"They obviously had a few opportunities to cement their place in there, but it wasn't to be. But they've still got the Europa League, and that's another way in if they don't get in via the top four. But I think they've had a good year. I think they'll be happy, the fans will be happy, and hopefully they can win the Europa League and end with a trophy."

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The idea Arsenal fans will be happy about how Emery's debut campaign has unfolded is a tough sell considering how little tangible improvement there's been since he succeeded Wenger.

Emery has the Gunners fifth in England's top flight ahead of the season's final day, but they are unlikely to book a return to Europe's top table. Arsenal are away on Sunday, May 12 and need a win and for north London rivals Tottenham Hotspur to lose at home to Everton.

Even then, it would require an eight-goal swing for the Gunners to leapfrog their neighbours on goal difference. Missing out on qualifying for the Champions League for a second season running would be a bitter blow considering it looked like a foregone conclusion only a few weeks ago.

However, a run of just four points from 18 has seen Arsenal's hopes dashed. The Gunners have taken a single point from the last four matches following Sunday's 1-1 home draw against 17th-placed Brighton & Hove Albion.

It was a result dismal enough for Emery to fail to match one strong suit of Wenger's final season:

Combined with miserable away form, it's little wonder Arsenal are preparing for another season in the UEFA Europa League. Avoiding it will demand winning this season's tournament, where the Gunners hold a 3-1 aggregate lead ahead of their semi-final second leg away to Valencia on Thursday.

Fortunately, Emery's track record makes a first European trophy since 1994 a strong possibility for the north London club. He engineered three-straight Europa League triumphs while in charge of Sevilla.

Lifting the trophy again would grant Arsenal entry into the Champions League for the first time since 2016. Yet even this achievement might struggle to mask concerns about the uneven start to Emery's tenure.

There has been regression in key areas, even compared to the later years of Wenger's reign, when declining league form became common.

BBC Sport's Harry Poole Emery is struggling to keep pace with those lean years:

"Last season, as Arsene Wenger's 1,235-game and 22-year reign came to an end, Arsenal finished sixth on 63 points - scoring 74 goals and conceding 51. With one game to go this time around, the Gunners under Emery have already bettered that points tally by four and sit one place higher in the table, despite scoring four goals fewer."

"It's certainly marginal progress compared with Wenger's final season at Emirates Stadium, though across the Frenchman's final five seasons, Arsenal averaged 72 points and only failed to surpass the 70-point mark once in his last seven campaigns."

As much as the numbers rate as cause for concern, the quality of the performances has also become a worry. While attractive, entertaining football was a given under Wenger, Arsenal's style has slowly eroded into something far more predictable and cautious on Emery's watch.

Part of Emery's problem has been a struggle to get the best out of the ample creative talent he inherited. Arsenal are struggling to create chances, even though strikers Alexandre Lacazette and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang are prolific, while Mesut Ozil and Henrikh Mkhitaryan are artful technicians.

Emery hasn't been able to find ways to make this combination click:

Letting a player with Wilshere's vision and flair leave on a free transfer has also made maintaining expansive football a challenge. It will be compounded by playmaker Aaron Ramsey joining Juventus this summer after Arsenal withdrew a contract offer.

Needing to replace a key figure like Ramsey is just one of the things on a growing to-do list for Emery. He also needs to bolster a suspect defence with fresh talent.

Having a limited transfer budget and no technical director to help are a few reasons why some believe the 47-year-old deserves patience and understanding:

A few teething problems were inevitable after moving on from a legacy manager like Wenger, who was in charge for nearly 22 years. Emery has tried to impose structure and tactical discipline on a group of players used to having the freedom to riff with it.

How quickly and smartly these problems are addressed over the next few months will have the biggest impact on Arsenal's chances for success under Emery.