Atarsenal,lessbumbling, lotlessgrumbling Players were complacent: Sarri

Gunners’ old fragility remains but their reaction to difficult situations is much better under coach Emery

MANCHESTER:IN those frantic final minutes, as all sense of order broke down, as the noise crackled and the tension grew, Arsenal’s players did what they always used to do, what they always seemed cursed to do, what they were always derided for doing.

After all those months of detailed, intelligent, intricate coaching from Unai Emery, all those hours in front of the video screen analysing themselves and their opponents, all those days spent on the field making the finest of adjustments to their body positions, they reverted to type.

The moment that encapsulated it best came not long after Manchester United’s second goal, its second equaliser in this 2-2 draw, though that was telling in itself. That second goal had come only a minute after Arsenal had re-established its lead, after Jesse Lingard had found himself in front of Bernd Leno, the Arsenal goalkeeper, with the ball at his feet, almost by accident.

He had wandered there — ambled, even- straight from kickoff. His movement belied no great sense of strategy, no cunning purpose. He took three paces backward after restarting the game, into Arsenal’s half. He jogged a little, turned, and then watched as Romelu Lukaku and Shkodran Mustafi jostled for the ball.

More in hope than expectation, he took a couple of steps forward. Sead Kolasinac, for reasons best known to himself, tried to play a pass back to Leno. It made it only as far as Lingard, who needed a beat to realise quite what had happened, to process the nonsensical sequence of events that led him here, to the point where he was about to score a goal.

At no point did any Arsenal player consider tracking his run. Nor did anyone try to challenge him, until Leno had no choice. It was all very Arsenal.

More telling still, though, was what happened a few moments after Lingard’s goal. Arsenal poured forward, desperate to atone for the errors that allowed United to draw level. The move broke down. Suddenly, Lingard had the ball in the middle of Arsenal’s half, with three teammates around him. Arsenal’s defense

had evaporated, its full-backs marooned upfield, their responsibilities forgotten in the excitement. United blew the chance, but it was all very Arsenal.

This is what always used to happen, of course: the lapses in concentration, the drifting into complacency, the lack of discipline, the shortage of tactical common sense. These were the shortcomings that pockmarked the last years of Arsene Wenger’s reign as manager, when his team was always one defeat away from

a crisis and rarely more than a set piece away from a defeat.

They were the gifts that would be greedily gobbled up by opponents, the moments that would draw a roar of discontent from fans, the incidents that would come to dominate the post-match inquests and the radio phone-ins and, increasingly, the hyperbolic, performative fan channels on Youtube. They were the proof that Wenger had lost it, that his time was up, that he had to go.

They have happened quite frequently

recently during this moderately unlikely unbeaten run.

Some things do not change, or at least they do not change that quickly.

What is different, though, is the reaction. The bile no longer bubbles up so rapidly. Arsenal’s travelling supporters no longer carry with them a sense of imminent mutiny. Not every game seems like a referendum on the future. Not every setback leaves the players on their haunches, staring off into the middle distance, wondering where it all went wrong. It is almost as if everyone involved, for the first time in a long time, feels able to enjoy it all, good and bad alike.

And so, as this game — once the Premier League’s marquee game — descended into a glorious chaos, a contest defined not by either team’s strengths but by their glaring flaws, a reminder that soccer, that sport, is essentially arbitrary and that the temptation to draw sweeping conclusions at all times is to be resisted, Arsenal’s fans did not chide their team for their mistakes.

They did not growl at every misplaced pass, or groan whenever an attack broke down, or harrumph at the sight of a United player scoring without actually trying. Instead, they sang. They serenaded Jose Mourinho, thanking him for the job he is doing leading their old rival, and they offered hymns to Emery and forward Alexandre Lacazette and anyone else whose name more or less scanned. WOLVERHAMPTON: Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri accused his players of over-confidence after throwing away a lead to lose 2-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers, here on Wednesday.

Chelsea looked to be on course for victory thanks to Ruben Loftus-cheek’s early opener as the visitors dominated the first-half, but two goals in four second-half minutes saw Wolves secure their first win in seven games.

“After this match we are less confident but maybe it’s better because sometimes my players show me that they have too much confidence,” said the Italian.

“I don’t know why. I am really very worried, not for the result but the fact that after the first goal we conceded we did not react very well. I am really very worried for this, not for the result.”

KLOPP CRITICISES BURNLEY APPROACH

BURNLEY:JUERGEN Klopp hit out at Burnley’s physical approach as Liverpool were left with a major injury worry after battling back from a goal down to maintain their unbeaten start in the league on Wednesday.

Joe Gomez faces a spell on the sidelines after he was carried off early in the 3-1 win at Turf Moor, which cut Manchester City’s advantage at the top to two points.

“Burnley had a specific plan to be really aggressive and really physical,” said Liverpool’s German boss. “Joe is injured, and probably not only a bit. We have to see what he’s like. We don’t know at the moment and we have to see tomorrow. It’s his ankle.”

SPURS SINK STRUGGLING SOUTHAMPTON

LONDON: Tottenham Hotspur bounced back from their derby defeat by Arsenal at the weekend with a comfortable and efficient 3-1 win over Southampton, here on Wednesday.

Watching in the stands at Wembley Stadium was new Southampton boss Ralph Hase-

nhuettl who will officially take charge on Thursday and there seemed to be a renewed energy from those on the pitch to impress their manager.

The visitors, however, were behind after only eight minutes when a short Spurs corner led to Christian Eriksen hitting a low cross into the box which was tucked away by Harry Kane for the England captain’s ninth league goal of the season.

Lucas Moura and Son Heungmin then added two more in the second half to finish things off in style at the Wembley Stadium.