Gary Neville labels Arsenal a "frustration" - but explains why the club must stick with Unai Emery

Unai Emery

Gary Neville has called on Arsenal fans to show patience with under-fire manager Unai Emery.

Emery has come under heavy pressure in recent weeks, with the Gunners having won only two of their last 10 Premier League fixtures.

A 2-0 defeat by top-four rivals Leicester on Saturday leaves Arsenal eight points adrift of the Champions League qualification spots after 12 matches.

Emery has also been criticised for his handling of the Granit Xhaka episode, with the Spaniard stripping the midfielder of the captaincy after he clashed with supporters during last month's 2-2 draw with Crystal Palace.

The Arsenal hierarchy moved to publicly back Emery on Monday, with head of football Raul Sanllehi and managing director Vinai Venkatesham delivering a vote of confidence to the former Sevilla boss.

And Neville believes the club's fans must follow suit and keep faith with Emery despite poor recent form.

"For Arsenal, the fans are getting very impatient at this moment of time," he said on his podcast. "I don’t think anybody was surprised that Leicester won that game. It doesn’t shock you, does it? It doesn’t surprise you with Arsenal.

"They are what they are. They’re a frustration. Emery is being put under big pressure. I know that Emery is a great coach and following on from Arsene Wenger was never going to be easy.

"Great coaches will come into Arsenal and struggle to change things there. We’ve seen that at Manchester United when Sir Alex Ferguson left. Ferguson and Wenger were the leaders at those clubs. It’s going to take time and there needs to be patience shown at Arsenal.

"Manchester United and Arsenal are both big clubs, huge clubs, and they will get back, the cycle will turn."

Arsenal will host struggling Southampton at the Emirates Stadium after the upcoming international break.

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).