Arsenal came away from a tough encounter with Manchester City with a well-deserved point, yet it could have, and probably should have been all three. Before the game, many fans would have snatched at the point if it were offered to them, yet the manner in which Arsenal let the game slip from them was so disappointing to see. Here are five key areas that must be looked at in order to see out important games such as this.
1. Loss of concentration
When Mathieu Debuchy went off injured that was the moment for Per Mertesacker, as the captain, to take charge of his players and make sure the levels of concentration did not drop. However, this was not the case. The defence was completely unorganised and Demichelis was costless to head home unmarked. The intensity dropped, passes were sloppy, and if not for Szczęsny then we would be discussing a defeat. Arsenal still lack that leader in the team, the one player who when times get tough or there is a break in play will remind the players not to get complacent and to focus on the task at hand.
2. Too many intricate passes
There is the old saying that Arsenal will always try to walk the ball into the net, or try and score the perfect goal. It seemed at times on Saturday that many of the players, bar Ramsey, were afraid to get a shot away, preferring to pass it on to another player rather than taking a risk. There were particular moments in the match when fans were screaming out for a shot, but in the end would see their requests turned down. Jack Wilshere can be one of the biggest culprits of this, when he has a clear sight at goal he opts to attempt a through ball, rather than taking a chance. Whether that is a sign of low confidence or just the tactic the team has been told to go out with is unknown, what is for definite is that it is frustrating for fans to look.
3. Taking too much time on the ball
When defending against the attacking power of Manchester City you will be under siege at one point in the match, and at 2-2 the game was almost lost when defenders chose to run the ball out rather than kicking away to safety. This is something that not only frustrates fans, but also terrifies them, when trying to run the ball out of defence against the likes of Agüero, Dzeko and David Silva, there’s only so many times you can avoid their tricky feet and get away with it. Some say the players do this as they have enough confidence in themselves, yet it was seen time and time again, last year in particular with Santi Cazorla against Aston Villa away, that playing this dangerous game too close to your own box will cost you.
4. Set Pieces
Once again it was a set piece that was Arsenal's downfall; it seems that the age old problems have still not been rectified. Many blame zonal marking for the equaliser on Saturday, and it has become apparent that Arsenal still haven't come to grips with executing the strategy. Whether or not zonal marking needs to be scrapped remains to be seen, if Arsene persists with it then he may need to adapt it, possibly by mixing both zonal and man marking into one defensive plan. Demichelis was left unmarked in the six yard box, not picked up by any defender in their allocated zone, so perhaps certain defenders needs to be assigned to man mark the best headers of the ball in order to ease the pressure on the zonal markers.
5. Lack of Substitutions
Arsenal did not make a substitution until the 81st minute, and even that was due to Debuchy's injury. Everyone could see that Mesut Ozil was not having a good game, yet Arsene persisted with him despite having the likes of Oxlaide-Chamberlain and Lukas Podolski on the bench. The game needed to be calmed down after Alexis' goal, Arteta would have been ideal to come on for Ozil to settle the midfield, retain more possession and really get a grip on the game. Arsene stuck to his guns and was caught out for it, his lack of awareness of when to get stuck in and hold out in the big games frustrates many an Arsenal fan and shows just how light the team is in in terms of defensive midfielders.
If Arsenal can address these problems for the big games then there is no reason as to why they should not be getting results. It all depends on whether Arsene Wenger realises how stubborn he can be with tactics and when the team needs to change against the big sides.