There’s no hope of competing for the top tier unless Arsenal addresses defensive woes.
On Saturday, Arsenal took a 2-0 lead against Watford, thanks to Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang twin goals before Sokratis Papastathopoulos’ blunder gave Watford a consolation goal and David Luiz committed a silly foul in his own yard, which resulted in a penalty-kick. It was Luiz’s second penalty in four games for Arsenal. It took him 160 games at Chelsea to commit three penalties.
The outcome? It meant Arsenal would share spoils with lowly Watford, the club that’s last in the Premier League standings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A0HruQ56gNc
But Saturday was not a new story for this club. Arsenal have conceded eight goals in their first five league games, and it’s due to horrible defense.
The irony is that Luiz is doing just the opposite of why he was brought to Arsenal–to help remedy a leaky defensive. It’s why Laurent Koscienly move to Bordeaux was sanctioned at the last minute.
The reality now is apparent: Arsenal must fix its defensive woes if the club is to compete in the league. Arsenal has plenty of firepower upfront to make a run. It ranks with the very best in the league. Emerick Aubameyang was masterful in his debut season, and he already has five of the team’s eight league goals this time around.
He’s not alone. Alexandre Lacazzete has proven himself in this league before, and Arsenal broke the bank to bring in winger Pépé Nicolas Pepe, who’s known for his goal-scoring prowess.
It adds up to this: in most of the games so far, Arsenal has scored first, only to lose the lead or be tied later. That problem has to be fixed.
As Aubameyang told Canal Plus, “I feel like that we are literally giving goals to the opposition.”
He’s right!
