What a difference a week makes in football. Arsenal were riding high
in the league prior to the defeat at Goodison Park. They had gone 14
league games unbeaten since the opening day defeat to Liverpool at the
Emirates. But following in poor second half displays against Everton
and Manchester City they ended up throwing away six points from
winning positions thereby granting the initiative back to their title
rivals as both the leading pack and chasing pack all won their
matches.
Yet it all smacks of familiar failings for Arsenal as the same turn of
events as become all too common. If comments are compared with
previous seasons as regard how the team have fallen away by losing
concentration in key matches, you could find the same thing all over
again.
The argument in the past was that the team needed to spend to match
its rivals or to mount a title challenge. And that was exactly what
Arsene Wenger has done in recent seasons. The signings of Mesut Ozil
and Alexis Sanchez were a signal in the change of direction of the
club in terms of its spending power. Even when nobody was signed last
summer, the club still signed Petr Cech for £10m. Something that would
have been unthinkable when the purse strings were tight.
Coming to this summer there were huge outlay for Granit Xhaka and
Mustafi which totaled up to £65m for both players.
But despite Wenger's declaration at various times this season that his
players are now more matured in terms of their ability to come back
from difficult situations, that assertion as so far proved once again
that it is a false dawn at least for now.
With the way the league is shaping up, with Chelsea setting a high bar
with consecutive wins, Liverpool imposing their game on opponents, and
Manchester City coming back from adverse situations, Arsenal choosed
the wrong time not to pick of any point from six available in the
North West of England inside a week.
The cries of spend the money from many of those of Arsenal persuasion
has dissipated. Why because, money has indeed been spent, but old
weaknesses persist. Despite the spending, Arsene Wenger has remained
the only constant in this never ending circle of mental flakiness that
continually pervades the consciousness of the Arsenal players. They
are not tough enough to stand up to difficult situations in matches.
And Wenger's in game management leaves much to be desired these days.
When the team is under pressure, a modicum tweak or a substitution
could aid in assuaging such a pressure, but the usual 70th minute
substitution has become a theme of Wenger's era. And if not that, a
reactive step not to freshen things up, but to react to his team going
behind, when he could have taken the initiative by carrying out the
substitution much earlier.
For the match at the Etihad on Sunday, Mesut Ozil had no business
playing the full match. The German was poor on the day. If he had been
substituted, he would have had few complains. The game repeatedly
passed him by. A player like Lucas Perez could have given Arsenal
something different on the day.
Arsene Wenger would have to address the midfield conundrum going
forward. The absence of Santi Cazorla has robbed Arsenal's midfield of
its most important player. Besides, his technical ability, his two
footedness is a feature of his game that is underrated. With all of
Granit Xhaka's qualities, that is something that he doesn't have.
This is not to say that he doesn't possess something that can carry
Arsenal forward as he is becoming an integral part of a midfield that
is clearly missing the finesse of Cazorla.
Francis Coquelin's limitation in possession means Arsenal essentially
plays almost with one man down when they are faced with certain
opponents. As was evident against Manchester City, Arsenal regained a
measure of possession when Mo Elneny came in for the injured Oxlade
Chamberlain.
Arsenal the season, lack certain element to their game. They cannot
stay deep to defend when they are under pressure without Per
Mertesacker. There is an obvious lack of compactness to their game in
the absence of the German. Besides, Mustafi's absence was clearly felt
in the two defeats recently as the German's passing ability from the
back is something Gabriel doesn't possess.
For once, Arsene Wenger would have to adopt some measure of pragmatism
going forward if he is to get Arsenal's season back on track. Clean
sheets have become a rarity. And a chance for Rob Holding in place of
Gabriel as the young centre half has fare better alongside Koscielny
this season than the Brazilian.
For all the individual criticism of players, it is Wenger's duty to go
beyond saying that his squad possess the mental toughness to rise from
adversity and for the players to start translating that into
consistent performances.