Unai Emery planning changes and literally wants more Arsenal muscle

New Arsenal boss Unai Emery wants to implement some big changes as he bids to get the Gunners back into the Champions League.

According to an exclusive in the Daily Express, Emery has “told his Arsenal players they are carrying too much fat and are not running far enough in matches”.

The report claims that Emery does not believe his players are overweight, but wants to alter their body compositions with, on average 1.3kg, of fat to be lost

Emery has instructed director of high performance Darren Burgess to replace the lost fat with 1.23kg of muscle, which could well mean an overhaul of the players’ diets.

In addition to that the new boss is looking for more energy from his team and wants, per the source, an extra 28.89km from each of his players this season, which equates to an extra 760m per man each game.

The former PSG boss is trying to adapt Arsenal into a side high-energy, pressing side and he also wants an improvement in Arsenal’s injury record.

Unai Emery Arsenal

The Gunners have, in the past, had players unavailable due to injury for large spells and Emery wants the record of availability of players due to injury climb above 90 per cent.

As noted in the article the club have been helped in that respect after offloading Santi Cazorla and Jack Wilshere – two players who have spent lengthy spells out of action at The Emirates.

Burgess, who arrived under Arsene Wenger last season, hinted at subtle change last month after speaking on the Physical Preparation Podcast, Burgess said: “I’m really happy here, I’m really excited about where this place is heading in terms of a change in everything we do.

“I’m here for another two years and I don’t plan on going anywhere either before, after or during that time to be honest. It’s such a great club to work for.”