Patience: not just one of the great tracks on Lloyd Cole and the Commotions 1984 debut LP Rattlesnakes.

It’s a commodity much sought after by football managers in an era when it’s often in short supply, and Unai Emery has appealed for a delivery of it to be made to North London as he looks to restore Arsenal to the kind of stature we’re all hoping to see in the coming years.

The Gunners have had a traumatic week, losing to Crystal Palace and Wolves, and a top four finish is now out of our hands.

However, the manager knows the job he has will take time, and has appealed to be given that as some pressure mounts.

“We want to get with this club to the point where we are the best club in England and the world,” he said.

“But it is a long process. Sometimes, like today, we need to talk about patience.

“We want to play in the Champions League but also we know our process needs to be with patience because there are another five very strong teams with very good players and very big performances.

“The Premier League is the most difficult championship in all the world. There is not another country with this difficulty to take the top four places and play in the Champions League.

“Maybe now in Spain, they have something similar – Valencia are struggling for the top four also.

“But here the biggest teams in the world play in one championship.”

The importance of Champions League football as part of that rebuilding process is obvious, but Emery refused to discuss the impact it might have on recruitment this summer, preferring to keep focus on tomorrow’s game against Leicester.

“Each moment we can speak about the past and the future,” he said.

“In each moment we can speak about our focus. Our only one way is to speak about the present and our focus is on Sunday.”