The one thing I will say for Arsene Wenger after Arsenal were condemned to yet another defeat at the home of Rugby by Stoke City is that the boss seemed to feel just as frustrated as the fans. But then you have to remember that Wenger is the one that picks the team, trains them, gives then their tactics and team talks and so the buck must stop with him.
Of course I agree with our manager’s comments after the game reported by the BBC, well most of them anyway. We were unlucky to have the Lacazette goal chalked off as the replay clearly showed he was level. And we did have a lot more chances than the home team, although the incision and penetration was not quite up to scratch.
Wenger said, “It’s a difficult defeat to swallow. We had chances – we should have won the game comfortably.
“We were unlucky. I think we scored a regular goal that was given offside and it wasn’t offside.
“It was frustrating getting caught cold for the goal. Defensively there is no excuse. We gave them a cheap goal.
“It was difficult to get the fluency. We tried but we couldn’t find the goal. There was lack of anticipation in the box with the second ball.
“To lose a game like that is disappointing You don’t want to lose games that you should win.
: “I believe some teams will get something here, that is why if you want to play at the top you have to consider it three points dropped.
“It was a very frustrating evening. I feel we had plenty of chances to score and didn’t. We know in this kind of game it’s important not to make a mistake but straight after half-time we were too sluggish on defending and we paid for it.
“After that we did not move the ball quickly enough and we did not combine well. On top of tha I think we scored a goal that is not offside. It’s a very easy decision. When the ball is kicked he is not offside, Lacazette.
“I was not convinced by our central defence today.”
No me neither Arsene, but it was clear from last week’s defensive horror show against Leicester that Nacho Monreal should not be the central of the three centre backs. I like him on the left but in the middle he looks a liability and the fact he is not a specialist central defender is exposed.
So why put him there today? We had Mertesacker on the bench and Mustafi in the starting line-up, both of whom are centre backs for the Germany national team. Is it just me or was the decision to give Nacho another go there a strange one? Did Wenger not watch the Leicester game?
Bob.