Lucky Arsenal

Anderlecht 1-2 Arsenal

Arsenal got themselves out of jail on Wednesday night with two goals in two minutes right at the end of the game, to take all three points from a match they deserved to lose. Ultimately the result may paper over the cracks as it enabled Wenger to escape having to answer difficult questions following another extremely below par performance, but this was simply not good enough.

The Gunners weren’t up against world beaters by any stretch of the imagination. This was an Anderlecht side that have consistently finished bottom of their Champions League group, have failed to win their last 11 games and have now also lost their last 6 home games in Europe’s top competition. Yet they made Arsenal look ordinary. Wenger’s side were abysmal from start to finish and the manager should be under the spotlight as he has struggled to achieve any semblance of cohesion from his side this season.

Injuries have hampered his options but the manager is making baffling decisions which are to the detriment of his side.

With Szczesny suspended for Wednesday night’s game and Ospina out injured for up to three months, the manager had no option but to select Martinez in goal and although the Argentine had little to do, he performed well, when called upon. In front of the goalkeeper however, Wenger decided to take Hector Bellerin out of his starting eleven, despite the Spaniard having performed so well during Saturday’s game against Hull, and deployed Chambers at right back with Monreal remaining at centre back.

Although Chambers was signed initially as a right back, he appears far more accomplished and comfortable in central defence than at right back, where he tends to get caught out and exposed when faced with pace. Bellerin on the other hand is a natural right back, blessed with searing speed. The Spaniard can therefore pose a significant threat going forward, running down the line, turning the opposition defence, and crossing into the box. Chambers doesn’t do this enough when playing in this position and against Anderlecht, almost every time the ball was played out to him, he either played it backwards or square, rather than getting his head down and making a run down the line. On the one occasion he did this, Chambers was able to deliver a wonderful cross to the back post for Kieran Gibbs to volley home an excellent finish, making up for an otherwise terrible display from the left back, to get Arsenal back on level terms.

Monreal and Mertesacker in central defence is a recipe for disaster. They failed as a unit against Hull and were culpable again against Anderlecht. Despite Wenger’s best efforts to convince us otherwise, Monreal is not a centre back and Mertesacker is not performing well enough to make up for any errors. They simply do not work together as a unit and were horribly exposed for Anderlecht’s goal. A simple cross into the box, allowing Najar to head home unopposed, past Martinez. With time running out Monreal slipped, allowing Matias Suarez a free run on goal, but his first touch let him down, enabling Martinez the opportunity to gather the loose ball. The home side could and should have also been two goals up with only five minutes left as the Arsenal defence stood statuesque and Vanden Borre fortunately sliced his effort onto the bar when it seemed easier to score.

The Gunners weren’t just experiencing problems defensively however, their performance from an attacking point of view was equally pathetic as they failed to register a single shot on target during the first half. In the second period Arsenal could have scored when Sanchez, the only player in a red and white shirt who performed well, could only direct a free header right at the goalkeeper, before Cazorla saw a low effort comfortably saved and then Sanchez’s free kick flew agonisingly wide in the final ten minutes. Yet as an attacking unit the Gunners were simply non-existent. The build-up play was painfully slow with the player in possession having no real options as those ahead of him stood still and offered no movement whatsoever. No forward player was dropping back to play in between the lines of the Anderlecht midfield and defence, while none of the deeper lying midfielders such as Wilshere or Ramsey managed to carry the ball forward with driving runs. As a result, the Gunners attack posed little or no threat until the final two minutes and fizzled out time and time again. This wasn’t the first time this has happened this season either which surely must cause the manager great concern, yet he seems unable to rectify it as week in week out the team plays in exactly the same manner.

Once Arsenal scored the equaliser, Anderlecht lost their composure which led to the visitors scoring the second in quick succession. Sanchez chested the ball down in the box and fired a low ball across the area which hit an Anderlecht defender and fell right at the feet of Podolski. The German has barely featured so far this season, but in such situations, Arsenal supporters wouldn’t want the ball to fall to anyone else. Podolski fired the ball into the net to secure one of the most undeserved victories in the club’s history and provide Wenger with a happy 65^th birthday.

Despite the victory meaning another win in the return game at the Emirates will secure Arsenal’s place in the last 16 of the competition, Wenger cannot be happy with the display from his side. Yes at the end of the game he was able to talk about the team’s character and never say die attitude, but this was a performance which should deeply worry the manager. As in previous years, the defensive unit is still a major problem area and now the attack is far too slow and ponderous to trouble the opposition and mask the defensive deficiencies. Against a better team, Arsenal would have been blown away, as they were in the away game against Dortmund. The Gunners may have finally spent big this summer but they are still merely making up the numbers in the Champions League and need to quickly get their act together.