THE WORST WEEK I’VE EVER KNOWN
Koscielny reveals the scale of the Gunners’ crisis of confidence
LAURENT KOSCIELNY has admitted Arsenal’s players are suffering the worst crisis of their careers.
Koscielny says the players must shoulder the blame, as well as Arsene Wenger, after the worst run of results in 16 years has caused meltdown at the Emirates.
Arsenal’s coaching staff are at their lowest ebb and are struggling to lift the mood, while the players are in turmoil and pointing fingers at each other as their season falls apart.
But Koscielny called for unity, and insists they can turn their season around, as they prepare for Europa League action against AC Milan on Thursday.
When asked whether he had suffered a week like this before, the Gunners captain said: “No. I think it has been difficult for everyone, maybe the first time for all of them.
“We try on the pitch to play, but we feel the players aren’t confident enough to be efficient. So we need to get back, train hard, work hard, and then the results can come back, and give us more confidence for the rest of the season.
“The players have the responsibility on the pitch, the boss has responsibilities too, and we have to be together. It is difficult to say if it is his fault or our fault. The club are together and we need to stay together. Everything outside our bubble, we don’t think about.
“The boss is here to give his best for the club. He has been here for 20 years and has always loved the club, the players have as well. But, yes, as a period it is difficult, so we need to stay together and fight.”
Koscielny has also called on the fans to get behind the team to help the players get their confidence back, and admitted Arsenal have fallen below expectations.
“It is very hard because, when you play for a big club like Arsenal, you need to be in the top four,” said the defender, 32. “I don’t know how, but now we are in a bad situation, and the results are not with us. We lost a little bit of our quality, but need to stay united. It is a bad period, but we need everyone who likes this club – players, staff and fans – to be together and to fight to stay the highest we can. “It will be very hard to finish in the top four. We have a bad period and did not have the results we wanted. We didn’t have the confidence we need to push ourselves more and to play well with the ball.
“But we need to stay together, to fight together. It is a big period for us, we know it is difficult, but you need to put your head down and work every day.”
Wenger’s future is on the line and, while he is determined to see out his contract, the club will review his position in the summer, and it seems increasingly likely they will make a change.
Monaco’s Leonardo Jardim, Germany boss Joachim Loew, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers and Manchester City coach Mikel Arteta (all left) are among the contenders, with Arsenal already looking at succession planning.