It is blindingly obvious to everyone that the Arsenal players have lost something in the last couple of months. At the beginning of the season we could all see the desire in their eyes every time they played, but now they don’t even believe they can beat the Hull City or Swansea City reserves at home.
Was the defeat to Barcelona the final straw that put them completely over the edge? Olivier Giroud’s not scored in 10 games and Alexis Sanchez has been even worse. Is it only 2 games out of the last 20 that he has found the net? So what does he think is the reason for Arsenal’s malaise? “We lack self-belief, that we can actually be champions,” he said.
“I think we can win the Premier League with the players we have. That said, we lack a certain hunger. We need to step out onto the pitch as if we’re already 1-0 up.
“I remember a game against Manchester United last year. The lads looked hungry for silverware as we took to the pitch.
“We crushed them in the first 20 minutes and went 3-0 up. We were hungry and brimming with confidence that day.”
So is it the whole team that has gone wrong? Have they lost faith in each other and their own abilities? Or is in individual players that are making the rest look ordinary?
So Sanchez is happy to speak about a team problem the day before our most important game of the season. Well maybe he should tell us what has happened to his hunger, his desire. Last season he galvanized the team into action, now he can’t get past people. His first touch is rubbish, and he can’t hit a barn door. Alexis you are part of the problem, so become part of the solution please…