Unai Emery: Wins Are More Important Than Clean Sheets

Unai Emery isn’t too bothered about failing to keep a clean sheet against Huddersfield…

Unai Emery refused to be drawn on our failure to keep a clean sheet away from home as we crawled over the line to a 2-1 win at relegation candidates Huddersfield.

Talking to the press after a narrow win which keeps our top four hopes alive, Emery was asked about our continued search for a clean sheet away from home.

Given that the hosts hadn’t found the back of the net in over nine hours of football and have lost 12 of their last 13 games, many felt this would be a simple afternoon for us.

However, despite racing into a two-goal lead at half-time, Huddersfield dominated possession throughout the match and forced an own goal from Sead Kolasinac in the dying moments of the game.

It leaves our clean sheet tally in the Premier League this season stuck at four, though Emery is placing emphasis on three points.

“Yes, but we won,” Emery said when asked about out failure to keep a clean sheet.

“The clean sheet is important but above all is to win. We can take a clean sheet and draw only. We spoke before with the team and we said that above all it is important to win and take individual targets also. 

“The most important thing is to score one more goal than them, and after that, a clean sheet. But I think every player worked very well, and in the last action unfortunately for us, they scored, and maybe they deserved it.”

The ‘you score, we score more’ theory sounds good but can only work when your attack is of the highest quality and you dominate possession.

Those aren’t qualities you can associate with us at the moment which means that Emery needs to find a way to make us more stable at the back without compromising our philosophy.

It’s something he’s struggled to do this term with his natural answer to a need for more defensive security resulting in him switching to a back-three.