We back Arsene when he has a plan. We stay quiet when he doesn’t

Arsenal 2-2 Hull

We back Arsene when he has a plan. We stay quiet when he doesn’t

Those were the words of Arsenal chairman, Sir Chips Keswick during last Thursday’s AGM at the Emirates Stadium. They are words which should send a shiver down the spine of every Arsenal supporter as they essentially confirm that Arsene Wenger is not accountable to anyone at the club. He is simply surrounded by yes men who never question him even when the manager refuses to address the blindingly obvious. To have the chairman of this great club openly admit this was quite astonishing.

Wenger’s refusal to rectify his team’s clear defensive shortcomings, with the signing of a defensive midfielder and central defender, in the summer transfer window should have been questioned by the board. Instead they sat back and accepted the manager’s decision with barely a whimper. Fast forward eight games into the new season and Arsenal are already effectively out of the title race, sitting 11 points behind Chelsea, and faced with yet another battle to achieve a top four finish. The reason? Defensive frailties due to a lack of sufficient numbers at the back.

Arsenal’s attacking game leaves them severely exposed at the back and vulnerable to the counter attack. The fact this area of the squad was not addressed in the summer is simply ridiculous. The absence of a real mobile defensive midfielder to break down the play has stood out even more this season, while the failure to sign another experienced centre back forced Wenger to play Koscielny despite an Achilles injury, which has now worsened significantly, forcing him to miss games. It is no coincidence that in virtually every league game this season; the opposition have scored with their first attempt on goal. It is an occurrence which has severely undermined the Gunners season.

Against Hull on Saturday, the trend continued with the visitors scoring two goals from their only two attempts on goal. The Gunners simply cannot allow this to continue. Steve Bruce’s side came to play for a draw and in truth were unfortunate not take home all three points. Apart from the opening fifteen minutes, in which the home side were vibrant, direct and taking the game to their opponents, Arsenal were poor. With Hull sat so deep there was no space to play intricate passes and the Gunners were at their most effective when the likes of Sanchez and Wilshere drove at the Hull defence, going past two or three players, creating panic and space.

Arsenal’s two goals came from the direct running of Sanchez, but unfortunately the Gunners just didn’t do enough of this to trouble the visitors on a regular basis. Cazorla and Welbeck had already forced Steve Harper into two fine saves before Sanchez picked up the ball on the edge of the area. The Chilean got his head down, evaded the challenge of Davies with a beautiful piece of skill and fired a low shot across goal and into the bottom corner of the net. Arsenal should have pushed on from here, they had been excellent up to this point and needed to maintain their momentum, but failed to do so.

Barely four minutes after opening the scoring, the Gunners were pegged back thanks to a controversial goal. Mohammed Diame clearly pulled back Flamini, putting both hands on the Frenchman’s shoulder to rob him of possession, surge through on goal and clip the ball beyond Szczesny. The Arsenal players were furious and surrounded the referee, but the goal was given. Although it was a clear foul on Flamini, Mertesacker was in a good position to challenge Diame as he entered the penalty area, but the German defender was too busy appealing for the foul and missed the opportunity to tackle the former West Ham man.

Upon conceding the equaliser, Arsenal stopped playing the exciting attacking football which had threatened to destroy Hull in the opening minutes. All confidence seemed to be drained from their play and they reverted to the slow monotonous football which so exasperates the Gunners faithful. Pass after pass after pass, but no chances created. After the game Wenger claimed his side had enjoyed up to 80% possession at times during the second half, but it took them until the 86^th minute to actually force the substitute goalkeeper, Jakupovic, into a save, as Sanchez’s header was tipped over the bar.

And this was a second half in which Arsenal were supposed to be chasing the game, having conceded again just after the half time break. Tom Huddleston’s cross may have been well delivered but Mertesacker was hopelessly caught out, allowing Abel Hernandez a free header to give the visitors the lead. The German just did not attack the ball at all and was caught on his heels by some basic movement from the striker.

Hull attempted to hold on from this point on, with ten men behind the ball and in truth, they effectively nullified Arsenal’s attack with clever fouls and strong defensive play, which the Gunners must learn to overcome. In the 91^st minute Sanzhez’s direct running saw him evade three defenders before passing to Welbeck in the box. The Englishman showed a great first touch to control the ball and then aimed a shot into the far corner to restore parity.

It was somewhat cruel on the visitors and Arsenal could have even won it at the end, with Cazorla’s low effort well saved and Campbell failing to convert the rebound, before Gibbs forced the goalkeeper into another fine save right at the death. It was a case of too little too late for the Gunners.

Wenger’s side cannot afford the defensive slip ups which are hampering their progress in the league. Supporters can blame the players, but when the defence is being patched up week in week out and is not adequately protected by a top quality defensive midfielder, it is the manager who should shoulder the blame. Bellerin played well at right back on Saturday and Monreal, deployed at centre back, didn’t have a bad game either, but the concession of two goals from two attempts ultimately speaks for itself. Mertesacker had a game to forget, but playing alongside a man who has only had a handful of games at centre back may have affected his performance. Defensive play is all about developing an understanding with your defensive partner and if you are not sure what he is going to do, mistakes will happen. Wenger appeared irritable in the post-match press conference as questions regarding his summer transfer policy rained down on him. Given the Arsenal chairman’s stance, it is clearly not a position the club’s manger is used to being in.