Arsenal 0-0 Liverpool: Defence and attack are issues for Arsene Wenger
Tuesday 25 August 2015 12:17, UK
Arsenal survived a period of defensive disarray against Liverpool to finish strongly in their 0-0 draw at the Emirates Stadium on Monday Night Football.
Petr Cech was the man of the match after pulling off a string of saves and while Arsenal improved, they have now failed to score in both of their home games so far this season.
With problems for Arsene Wenger at both ends of the pitch, we look at the challenges facing the Gunners…
Defensive disarray
"For them it's an opportunity to show they have the quality I believe they have," said Wenger of his new defensive partnership of Gabriel and Calum Chambers in the absence of Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny through illness and injury respectively.
But that belief seemed misplaced for much of the first half as Arsenal passed the ball uncharacteristically poorly out from the back. In fact, in the first half, Arsenal misplaced as many passes (14) in their own half as they did in the entire game at Crystal Palace.
I was so surprised by the poor quality of Arsenal's passing.
"They really have been woeful in the first half," said Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville. "I was so surprised by the poor quality of Arsenal's passing." Eight different Arsenal players misplaced a pass in their own half in that opening 45 minutes as indecision spread through the team.
"I think a lot of the nervousness has come from the centre-backs," added fellow Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher. It was Chambers, in particular, who endured a difficult start to the game with Cech even giving him an unwanted name-check in his post-match interview.
Francis Coquelin had to bail Chambers out twice in the early stages as the young England international's commitment to passing the ball short under pressure almost proved costly for his team.
Even towards the end of the half, there was a wild swing at the ball that almost saw Benteke get behind the defence and an attempt to carry the ball forwards soon after only saw Chambers dispossessed. It seemed as though it would sum up his evening.
However, Chambers battled back after the break as Arsenal took the game to their opponents and had the better of things in the second half. It was then that the team's issues at the other end of the pitch came to the fore.
Attacking inefficiency
Wenger could point to an early offside decision against Aaron Ramsey that saw a goal controversially disallowed, while Alexis Sanchez hit a post and Olivier Giroud had a strong appeal for a penalty turned down. But the overall impression was of a team failing to find its rhythm.
"We talk about the mistakes at the back but that's not the first-choice Arsenal back-four," said Carragher. "That is Arsenal's first-choice front six. Nobody is missing. All the players are there.
"So in terms of what Arsenal created, they're still not really looking like Arsenal. I think it's a big worry in these two home games how they've looked in terms of being title challengers."
The Gunners have now failed to score in three hours of football in front of their own supporters this season with the opening day defeat to West Ham only looking more worrying given their subsequent home defeats to Leicester and Bournemouth.
But that sequence actually extends back rather further. This was the fifth home Premier League game out of six in which Arsenal have failed to find the net. First-choice defence or not, that's an issue that Wenger must address quickly if his team is to improve this season.
