One of the biggest debates among us Arsenal fans is what the hell is happening with our away form and what is need to put it right.
With four away games form our six remaining matches it is imperative that we address the issue, find a solution and secure a top-four spot, however, that is easier said than done. Unai Emery is at least saying the right thing and has said is in discussions with the players on how to get things on track again.
“We were speaking in the dressing room how we can fix our problem” he said. “We need to improve. We need sometimes patience to improve this spirit. We can be critical of ourselves for our away performances”
“We are consistent this season but if we need to improve something, it’s our away form. If we win, we can continue in fourth. We must show everybody we can finish in this position.
“We spoke a lot about that and what we need to improve. We need sometimes patience to improve this spirit. We can be critical of ourselves for our away performances.
“With consistency in our mentality we can build up better performances away. I’m sure we’re going to find it.”
The thing is this though, what if the problem is not the players, what if the real problem is the manager?
It cannot be ignored that in his final year in Spain when he was the manager at Sevilla, that he never won a single league away game and it cannot be ignored that his team selections this season on the road have left a lot to be desired.
What happened at Everton was a surprise. Not because we lost but because of the manner of that loss, the truth is that as soon as the team was announced there was a general feeling of negativity, the team simply did not look good on paper and it proved to be the case in the match.
It cannot be a coincidence that Emery has a record of going through periods of poor away form and maybe he should be looking at himself and the decisions he has been making as opposed to always looking at the players.
I am not excusing the players, they are paid enough, and should have been good enough to win some of the away games we lost. But they take their instructions from the manager and if the players are unable to implement Emery’s instructions then he has to ask himself, why is that?
So, what is the answer? I do not know, it is obviously mental to some degree and who is responsible for that deficiency? Emery is too good a manager for us to lose him, but he has to find a solution and fast.
Ozil at rw and miki at lw will never work.
Next season arsenal need a LW and a RW.
Both tend to suck as wingers and 3-4-2-1 formation requires good wingers/ wide forwards like Hazard/ Willian/ Pedro
The passing has to be improved as well. I watched Barcelona again the other day and their passes made Man United play like a Championship team
Only one solution play all our games at home problem solved ???
Arsenal usually cannot dictate the tempo at away matches. They cannot dominate the midfield, therefore the home team can easily test Arsenal’s offside traps multiple times and the official decisions on the offsides/ free kicks are usually affected by the crowd
Reducing the number of tempo dictators by using a no 10 in 4-2-3-1 formation or two AMs in 3-4-2-1 doesn’t help either
It’s better to use 4-3-3 as what Barcelona, Man City, Real Madrid and Liverpool use, so we can increase the number of midfielders into five when defending. Or use its alternative, 4-1-2-1-2 that has been proven effective against Chelsea
You’re too hung up on formations. Every post it’s 442, 3421, 352, 31213. How about 235 or even 1111111111.
Just one of my suggestions
One of the funniest post i’ve ever read here. Savagery at best…
Like it Declan, Back to two full backs, two wing half’s and two out and out wingers that hogg the line.
Lol, 1111111111 seems nice though. At least every man for himself
W Ham pressed hard at Man U and I think were unlucky. We need to press like we did in the first half against Napoli to get anything out of the away games.
Call me cynical, but I thought that the view of the majority on here was to change the manager and everything would alright regarding our away form?
Ah well, it seems that was yet another headline capturing piece of nonsense, especially with six new signings on board to rectify this situation.
Along with the injuries, contract negotiations and size of the hotdogs for sale, it must be UE!!!
We just need to play like we did Thursday, tactics and team selected, to change this away form.
They have shown how to work as a team, UE should not accept anything less from any player.
Arsenals’s best away performance this season was 1st half @ man city. We must replicate that more often into a habit.
I love Emery, but he does tinker with the team far too much in away games. Although he’ll have to continue to do that given we have Napoli three days after Watford, and it’ll be a similar story should we make the semi’s.
He also inherited a very weak minded group of players that were very poor on the road under Wenger, and not just last season. Just think of some of the beatings we’ve taken on the road, and not just against the big teams down the years under Wenger. I still get the shakes when I think of the 8-2 against Utd. We didn’t have our strongest team out, but we still had: RVP, Walcott, Arshavin, Koscielny, Ramsey, and Rosicky all starting. It’s almost as if our away form has become symptomatic of the club. We used to have the best away form under the early Wenger years, and then it gradually became an embarrassment.
As I keep saying, you’d have to be a very delusional fan to think Emery could fix this in one season.
The problem is we keep losing.
The solution is we start winning.
Lacazette admitted in the post match knterview that the players had not followed Emery’s instructions at Goodison Park. In addition the players available were limited by injuries and suspension. Therefore, why do people bame Emery for the loss to Everton?
The difference in loudness between Emirates and most away stadiums may have made the players more relaxed at home and more nervous away. During Highbury days, this away form was less often, whatever the squad.