Despite the fact that Arsenal have a much stronger defensive line-up now available and have proved that we can defend well, not conceding a single goal in the three Premier League games before the derby loss, Arsene Wenger accepts that the Gunners cannot just sit back.
The manager admitted that Arsenal did that after taking the lead at White Hart Lane and that attitude is a big reason why we ended up on the wrong end of the result. So his words, reported by Arsenal.com, before the Gunners take on bottom club Leicester City at the Emirates stadium tonight, were a reminder to the players not to sit on a lead.
He said, “Tottenham put us in [a difficult] position by putting us under pressure, and we were reluctant to come out from the back and play a little bit because we were 1-0 up.
“Maybe we regret that we wanted to protect our goal advantage too much. We put the intensity, the effort, the focus and the commitment in. I feel it’s now [important to] focus on the next one and forget about that.”
Assuming that Arsenal do score the first goal, the Frenchman will clearly expect them to push on and try to score more, without going too crazy and leaving just one or two players back of course. Just because our defence is better now we have Laurent Koscielny fit again and with Francis Coquelin giving great cover in midfield, does not mean that we should invite teams onto us too much.
The struggling visitors should be the perfect opportunity for the Gunners to really get back in the attacking and creative groove, so are we all expecting a thumping win and a clean sheet?