The week in five words
Arsenal are not very good.
What went well
Alexis Sanchez scored a goal.
What didn’t
Arsenal’s inability to hang onto a lead, or rather, their ability to concede in ridiculous fashion, has cost them so dearly this season. It was the same again on Sunday.
Arsene Wenger bemoaned the lack of creation after the game, but they had 16 chances in the 90 minutes to score more. There was obviously a lack of efficiency in front of goal, but conceding the way they did, that late in the game, was just so Arsenal.
Gabriel didn’t even attempt a challenge on Emmanuel Adebayor as he ran down the line. Yannick Bolasie bamboozled Francis Coquelin and then hit a shot which Petr Cech really should have saved. The experience and quality of the Czech international has been vital for the Gunners at times, but he was found wanting yesterday.
More than anything, though, it was the lack of any real urgency from the Arsenal players throughout the 90 minutes.
They know there’s nothing left to play for but a top-four spot, and based on yesterday they don’t even seem particularly interested in that. It raises big questions about the manager’s ability to motivate his team, and this was just another layer to what has been a quite spectacular collapse from a team that was top of the table in January.
Quote of the week
"After today I’m not in that kind of mood to dream about the Premier League title" - Arsene Wenger. A dream that died well before yesterday, it has to be said.
The need-to-know facts
- Only Crystal Palace (5) have taken fewer points in Premier League London derbies this season than Arsenal (7).
- Arsenal have won just 1 London derby in league competition this season; their fewest since the 1963/64 campaign (1).
- Alexis Sanchez has scored or assisted 7 goals in his last 6 Premier League games (4 goals, 3 assists) after delivering just 1 in his previous 10.
- Sanchez scored in back-to-back Premier League home games for Arsenal for the first time since January 2015.
Video of the week
Theo Walcott’s hilarious mind-melt in midfield. Made even more funny by his protests afterwards, as if it were anyone’s fault but his own.
Theo Walcott. April 17, 2016
Winner of the week
It’s a bit like picking the least-worst of something, but with another goal yesterday, Sanchez looks to have found his shooting boots again.
It’s been a disappointing campaign for last season’s top scorer, and much of why that is is down to poor management of him by Wenger.
He should have been given a rest after the Copa America, and the Frenchman's decision to bring him back straight away has contributed significantly to his losses of form and fitness.
It’s too little too late now, but it’s good to see a player who always tries to make things happen get some reward for his endeavour.
Loser of the week
It’s tempting to go with Cech, his mistake was costly, but ultimately this comes back to Wenger yet again.
Against mid-table opposition, at home, Arsenal faltered once more. They didn’t play with any real cohesion and rhythm, and his team looks a shell of what it should be.
Sometimes a manager can take a group of players and fashion them into a team that is greater than the sum of its parts – see Claudio Ranieri at Leicester, for example.
This iteration of Arsenal is one that is less than the sum of its parts, and it can only be down to the Frenchman. It’s sad to see, but no less true because of that.
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