Visitors were in control at Bournemouth but this is the most fragile of Arsenal teams and it was worrying to see how thin their squad was in terms of qualityIt was a shocking moment for Arsenal and the temptation was to squint in disbelief. How had it happened? How had Callum Wilson nipped in to equalise for Bournemouth? Arsenal had been in control, despite holding only a slender advantage, and the goal had hardly been signposted.Then again, this is Arsenal and, more to the point, this is the most fragile of Arsenal teams. With the narrative checked, Arsenal duly folded and it was easy to point more fingers at a backline that would make their predecessors from hardier times turn...
Arsène Wenger claims not to be worried but the French striker has hit a barren patch and is struggling with the demands of the Premier LeagueAlexandre Lacazette accepted the pass from Danny Welbeck, took one touch to set himself and curled a glorious right-footed shot from the edge of the area into the top corner. It was September of last year and the screamer put Arsenal in control against Bournemouth at the Emirates. They would win 3-0.Two Premier League games later, Lacazette was on target again, scoring twice in Arsenal’s 2-0 home victory over West Brom. At that point, the club’s record signing had four goals in six league appearances, having marked his debut in the competition with one after...
Watching Arsenal’s manager watch the goalless first leg of a cup semi-final was more interesting than watching the goalless first leg of a league cup semi-finalOf all the indignities foisted on Arsène Wenger during his time in English football, this was perhaps a fresh level of zip-fumbling, hood-gnawing horror. At the end of a room‑temperature semi-final Wenger said he had quite enjoyed his 90 minutes in the Stamford Bridge press box. “You see, you’re well treated, you have nothing to complain about,” he told the gathered journalists, expertly seizing the opportunity to chastise, once again, the people he most enjoys chastising.VAR issues aside – the image of Martin Atkinson fiddling with his ear will live long in the memory –...
Mark Robins’ eye-catching Coventry deserve their headlines, Liverpool have a bargain in Andrew Robertson and Wolves are already good enough for top flightAmid all the hoopla over the departing Mark Hughes, it is right to take a moment to praise Coventry City. They were deserved winners of the third-round tie at the Ricoh Arena, despite giving up the greater number of chances to the visitors. The Sky Blues played with a determination and energy you might expect of a team assuming the David role in a Goliath encounter. But they were also calm on the ball and often quite cute on it, too. Their play was all the more striking, given the starting XI had an average age of 24...
The accusation of some kind of premeditated campaign by referees against Arsenal is ludicrous – if Wenger is preparing his team for bad decisions, what does that say about their mindset?There was a classic Arsène Wenger moment on Wednesday as he walked towards the exit door of the media auditorium at the Emirates Stadium. It was put to the Arsenal manager that Jack Wilshere might have been sent off for a second bookable offence during the helter-skelter 2-2 draw with Chelsea – a dive following a challenge from Andreas Christensen.“That would have made you happy,” Wenger countered. Related: Arsène Wenger’s high-wire act exposes hole at heart of Arsenal | Amy Lawrence Related: Refereeing calls have cost the Gunners four points and...