We need to learn to keep our concentration for 90mins! by Lagos Gooner
Hello once again. Can i ask you all a question? Would you all be nice enough to help me with the answer? I just want to ask a simple question; please what is needed for a team to keep its concentration at 100% for the whole duration of a game?
In our game on Thursday, if you all will agree with me, what killed us at the dying minute of the game was our lack of concentration at the defence. Why do we always find a way of letting teams score against us just some minutes after we might have scored? Is it that we over celebrate and forget that we need to cover our back? Or are we just wired not to know how to defend?
The first goal the Greek giants scored against us on Thursday was as a result of us not concentrating on actually defending a corner. We probably were just waiting for the opponents to lose the corner kick and we start a counter attack, rather than defending our post. Cisse was left unmarked to nod in the first goal of the match. Where were the defenders? Why would an opponent be left unmarked in the penalty box? That first goal was a cheap and easy goal for Olympiacos. Too bad!
As if that was not enough, the Arsenal defence on that field of play was uncoordinated. The Greek grew in confidence, and their attack caused panic in the Arsenal’s defence.
In recent games, the team has done well in shutting teams out, but on Thursday, I simply can’t explain what happened. In all honesty, the team’s defence was not doing too badly with Mustafi and Luiz in defence, but I noticed that as soon as Mustafi was subbed, the defence started getting all jittery. Even with Mustafi on the pitch, the defence was not too coordinated, but we were assured that we had two dedicated players, willing to give an arm and a tooth to keep the other team from scoring.
The painful part of the game to me was when we allowed Olympiacos to score just few minutes after we scored our goal. I felt heartbroken, just like other Arsenal fans around the world! It is such a painful thing that just when you thought your team had got the winning goal, the same team brings you back to earth by conceding a cheap goal! I don’t know what Leno was thinking playing the ball to the corner after receiving a back pass from Xhaka! Wouldn’t it have been better if he had played the ball out of his box? Must we always play from the back and cause ourselves problems? We need to fix our defensive issues properly, once and for all! We are Arsenal and we are proud.
Sylvester Kwentua
For the first time in something like 12 years or so, we finally have a manager in Arteta who’s primary focus seems be sorting out our defending. Which is the right thing to do, as it’s been our weakest area for as long as I can remember. There are young Arsenal fans that will have NEVER seen us defend well.
I feel MA has done the best he can with our defence given what he inherited. One also has to consider that apart from the recent trip abroad to train, MA hasn’t had a lot of time between fixtures to really work through his ideas. He had no pre-season with the squad either.
Ultimately, the players are just not good enough, and the chronic mismanagement before Emery’s arrival, is why we are where we are. It’s the worst Arsenal squad I have ever seen, and we only have one world class player. Apart from LB, and GK, the whole defence needs a complete reboot. Number one priority in the summer has to be a quality CB.
Forgot to mention that overall, MA has improved us defensively.
Total concentration is what top defenders have. We do not have ANY top defenders; not one THAT IS, in part , why we constantly make key defensive mistakes. The other main reason is that they simply lack the necessary ability. I am not remotely pursuaded by this new Gooner love in with Mustfai, though he was our best player without doubt the other night. Sokratis, Luiz, Kolasinac and Bellerin too, are all hopeless defenders and must be got rid of as soon as practicably possible.
Simply put , top players do not make constant mistakes and errors, poor players do. Who can possible dissent from that plain truth!
The errors are starting to creep back through.
I hope when Leno looks more assured and when Luiz shakes it off, that someone else doesn’t pick up this mantle.
Clean sheets and Saka being a difference maker, along with Auba, it felt really good, am sure everyone attached to the club felt the same way.
Four games in seven or eight days is a lot. The engine room looked tired, the wide players looked tired, and mentally our defenders were slow, the boss doesn’t even know what Mustafi mumbled before going off, doesn’t know if it was cramp or injury.
Good defenders, like defending and keeping clean sheets gives them great satisfaction.With the possible exception of Tierney and hopefully Saliba we lack quality defenders and our problems are compounded by the fact that we do not have a quick, physically powerful DM to assist our plodders.It’s all about quality , or in our case,the lack of it.