The long wait continues for Arsenal
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You must go back to the 2003/04 season to find the last time Arsenal won the Premier League. Since then, the Gunners have won the FC Cup three times and have consistently qualified for the Champions League. However, when it comes to winning the Premier League, Arsenal have fallen short, despite being in promising positions to win it at different stages of the season over the past 14 years.
The 2-1 home defeat to Watford on Tuesday night, means it could be another season without the Premier League title returning to the Arsenal trophy cabinet. After 23 games played, Arsenal find themselves in third place, 9 points off the leaders Chelsea. Tuesday night was supposed the be the perfect opportunity to close the gap on Antonio Conte’s men, who faced a tough trip to Anfield. Chelsea came away with a point but Arsenal could not take advantage and instead of reducing the deficit to 5 points, it extended to 9 points.
So, what has gone wrong again for Arsenal this season?
The defeat to Watford was only their fourth league defeat of the season, so it’s not as if Arsene Wenger’s team are losing every other week. The problem is, they remain in the mix for the title but cannot make a sustained challenge and finishing in the top four then becomes the priority. The Watford match highlighted several problems, which have raised their ugly head many times before.
Wenger claimed the players were not mentally ready for the physical test against Watford but if that’s the case, what were they doing in training in the lead up to the game? Surely Wenger knew the threat presented by Watford and worked on it as part of his preparation? Obviously not and it cost them dear. The players could not match Watford’s approach to the game and before they knew, it, they were two goals down. There were also many changes from the team which brushed aside Southampton in the FA Cup. Having played so well, was there need to make ten changes to that team? Probably not.
There was a lack of urgency in the closing stages of the Watford game, the players did not know how to cope with having to push for a late equaliser. The game management skills are non-existent and when it comes to breaking down a team who are happy to defend with numbers, Arsenal struggle and this was apparent on Tuesday night.
Wenger continues to bring in the same style of player and Granit Xhaka is a good example. He can pass the ball nicely but is left wanting when it comes to mobility and defending, much like his teammates. Furthermore, there is very little Premier League winning experience in the team. Yes, Leicester City won it without that in their team last season but it has proven to be a one off. The only player in the Arsenal squad who has won the Premier League is Petr Cech.
The Arsenal team are full of players who do the same thing every season, which is drop away when it counts and that’s exactly what they are doing now.
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