Arsenal lost yet another game this afternoon to leave their hopes of a top-four finish in on tenterhooks, and youngster Sambi Lokonga has urged his team-mates to step-up.
The Gunners could take the easy excuse and blame the fact that they are missing some key players since the international break, with Thomas Partey and Kieran Tierney no longer expected to play a part in the remainder of our campaign, and with Takehiro Tomiyasu having been missing for almost the entirety of 2022 thus far.
Our form has dropped off a cliff since the international break however, which could be down to those absences aforementioned, but at this point in the campaign there is zero room for error as we drift away from the Champions League places, and Lokonga has urged his team-mates to step up and make sure we ‘don’t feel like’ those injured players are missing.
Lokonga told Arsenal Media: “We know the plan, we know what we have to do, of course, [some of] the main players are missing but yeah, we need to give our best so we don’t feel they’re missing.
“We need to believe, I think that’s the first thing. We need to stick together. We’ve been through this so we can do it again.”
The feeling is that the team mostly performed this afternoon, but were lacking in front of goal and that is the worrying thing. Without goals you cannot win matches, and without composure we are giving our rivals the confidence to get themselves into the game and it has proved costly.
I’m not seeing enough fight from these players, and while Lokonga is one who has stepped in for the injured stars, I’m not seeing enough from him either. It would be harsh to blame him for any of our downfalls, as I’m not really seeing him making mistakes, but there is a distinct lack of conviction on that pitch of late.
Of course, it isn’t just those coming into the team who need to step up, as it is the majority of the team who isn’t showing enough.
Which players do you believe should be doing the most to fill the void left by our absentees?
Patrick