Arsenal keeper Bernd Leno has been speaking about the quality and attributes of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette and Nicolas Pepe but accepts that a balance must be found with the defence.
The German stopper was glowing in his praise for the front three and made it clear that they give confidence to the whole team.
“We know about our character but also about the quality,” said Leno. “The three players up top, with [Nicholas] Pepe also there now, we have unbelievable quality.
“They can score the big chances but also score from nothing and so the other teams always know and have to be aware that we have a lot of dangerous players and that gives us big confidence.
“You can see the game against Liverpool, we had one or two chances to score when it was 0-0 so we can score with our quality in that top three.
“We can score against everybody but I think the key is always the balance with the defence because in the end that is the most important thing.”
What I took from those comments more than anything else was the part about the key is finding a balance with the defence, that tells me that the other players in the team know it is the backline that is the biggest issue right now and that is not necessarily a good thing.
It is obviously positive that the players are aware of the shortcomings in defence but you have to think that at some point it will create frustration in the dressing room and when that happens it becomes difficult to retain harmony.
There is only so much that the forwards will put up with when their good work is constantly being undermined and that is exactly what is happening right now.
The midfield is not helping either, that is undeniable, but it is the mistakes game after game that is the problem and while it was a midfielder this time around that cost Arsenal the points, it is generally the defence that are the culprits.
I did think it was positive of Leno to point out the quality of the front three and he is 100% spot on in his assessment but I do worry how long the dressing room will stay united while the defenders keep on throwing points away.