After Arsenal horror show, is there still a ‘big 6’
Utterly lifeless performance at Anfield
MANCHESTER, England, Aug 28, (RTRS): All throughout the buildup to this, so far, enthralling Premier League season, the question asked was which of the “Big Six” would be able to pull away and make themselves champions.
But after Arsenal’s appalling, lifeless, display in their 4-0 hammering by Liverpool at Anfield the question that now surely has to be asked as to whether there really still is a six-team the Gunners faithful, it was the utterly lifeless performance, dreadful body language and general sense of malaise about the team that was so depressing for them.
Amid the stinging criticism from former players and pundits, perhaps the most damning comment came from the team’s goalkeeper Petr Cech.
“OK, you can come and lose a match 4-0 if you have a bad day, when you are fighting but are unlucky, but not like how it happened today,” he said.
“We were not fighting, not winning any individual battles, and we completely failed to respond to their way of playing. This is the most disappointing thing,” added the Czech keeper.
It was the biggest match of the season so far for Arsenal and against a team who, for all their attacking prowess, many believe have a weakness at the back.
Yet Wenger chose to leave his new French striker Alexandre Lacazette on the bench and play Danny Welbeck as a lone forward with unsettled Chilean Alexis Sanchez floating somewhere, ineffectively, in a deeper and wider role.
The way Arsenal set up tactically was in the fashion of a mid-table side away to a big club — only without the commitment, fight, pressing and graft that those teams usually display.
Wenger did not try to gloss over the performance calling it “absolutely disastrous” but he could offer no clear explanation for why his team appeared so unfocused.
“That is very difficult to answer after the game. There are some reasons but I don’t think I have too much to comment on that now,” he said.
Wenger has until Thursday to ship out any players he no longer wants and to find replacements but barring an uncharacteristic late flurry in the market,
Wenger
it is difficult to see this Arsenal team being anywhere close to the title race.
Indeed, if the Gunners performance is contrasted with Everton’s energetic and aggressive display in their 1-1 draw at Manchester City last Monday, it is fair to ask whether the top six is even on the cards.
Certainly the two Manchester clubs along with Liverpool and Chelsea are a cut above the current Arsenal.
Tottenham are having teething problems this season but a team that finished second last year should be aiming for the top four once they get used to their temporary residence at Wembley.
Everton may have been clear second best at Chelsea on Sunday in a 2-0 loss, but Ronald Koeman’s side have shown enough to indicate that their strengthened squad can realistically target sixth place.
Arsenal have attacking talent but without steel in midfield and organisation and basic competence at the back, they look destined for another frustrating season.