Arsenal Rant - We're getting worse!

Unbeaten in 18 games in all competitions, 3 points off top of the league, qualified for the knockout stages of the CL, you'd think Arsenal fans would struggle to criticise the start to the season. But that's far from the case, as the saying goes, it's the 'same shit, different year.'

The problem since the Basel game has been the performances (other than the demolition of Ludogorets). Since that complete performance against the Swiss side at the end of September we've been riding our luck. You could argue that we haven't lost and that's the sign of champions but, then you have to look at the fact we've dropped six points in the past two months, now is that the sign of champions? We're not making the Emirates Stadium a fortress this year, losing to Liverpool on the opening day and luckily drawing to Middlesbrough and Spurs. We all know that luck only goes your way for so long in football and eventually it'll balance itself out and I'm dreading when that happens, we should've lost to Tottenham, United and PSG in our past 3 games. After the Chelsea game, I thought the days where we played with fear in big games were gone but these last 3 games have shown that's far from the truth. We're not winning 50/50 challenges in the midfield unless it's Coquelin, not winning second balls and not showing the desire and will to win when it matters. Last night against PSG, the first 5 minutes we put in challenges and we're showing them no respect at all and then all of a sudden we sat off and let them play their game, you can't afford to do that against a lesser opponent in the FA Cup, let alone one of the best teams in Europe. We were lucky to get the penalty and that the ricochets went in our favour for Verrati's own goal and I thought that would be enough to encourage us to up the intensity and put the game to bed but instead, as we do so many times, we sat off and let them come at us again. We're not learning from the warning signs in games and the players are as much to blame as the manager for that. Yesterday, we allowed Cavani a free header from two corners but then we didn't learn to pick our men up as Jenkinson let Lucas walk away from him and have a free header. If we can't get the basics right in defending and adapt to counter our opponents strengths, how on earth are we going to win the league? I saw people saying yesterday that us getting second in the group is a blessing in disguise but that's so far from the truth. Currently we would play either: Napoli, Barcelona, Atletico Madrid, Monaco, Borussia Dortmund or Juventus. Whereas if we won the group we would play either: Benfica, Bayern Munich, Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Porto or Sevilla. If you look at those lists and you say the top one is easier, you are out of your mind. Out of the teams we'd currently face, the only side I don't fear is Napoli, whereas, PSG should only fear Munich, Madrid and maybe Sevilla. Also, winning the group means you play the second leg at home which puts pressure on your opponents to get the job done and keep a clean sheet at home, losing the first leg at home like we always do gives us a massive task to do away in a hostile atmosphere. If we finish top of the group and get a solid draw, that's just unlucky but if you finish 2nd and get a hard draw,  that's our own fault again, this was a winnable group and we've more than likely bottled it.

What we're missing right now the most is these two. Bellerin's powerful overlaps and pace down the right hand side is something we don't have the depth to replace as Jenkinson has shown. Cazorla's quality and creativity in midfield has been crucial to us but since he's been injured, no one has stepped up to fill his role. When he's playing, he makes that one pass that can take 2-3 players out of the game and turns defence to attack in an instant which really allows Ozil to free roam as he doesn't have to be the one all the time to make that key pass. We've tried Ramsey in the middle, Elneny too but both haven't been able to fill his boots. The most suitable person to sit in that deep lying playmaker role would be Granit Xhaka but after his joke of a red card, Wenger doesn't seem to trust him and I don't see why. Sure Xhaka wouldn't get into the opposition box like Ramsey but he's shown that he can score from 30-40 yards so why he's not playing is a mystery. Tactically at the moment we have set up so wrong and if the fans can see it, Wenger can too, he just seems to refuse to get up, take a risk and change the system. Look at Chelsea, we hammered them and Conte realised that he needed to change. Since that day, he changed to 3 at the back and now Chelsea are top of the league and playing brilliant football, whereas we are playing some of the worst football I've ever witnessed as an Arsenal fan. With Bellerin out and Jenkinson not playing well, why don't we switch to 3 at the back? We've got Gabriel and Holding who could settle in nicely alongside Koscielny and Mustafi, it's up to Wenger to make the decision with the ridiculous money he's on. I honestly believe going to 3 at the back could do great things for us, with Ox and Gibbs as wing-backs for now, they're both great athletes and their pace would cause teams all kinds of problems. Last night showed me Giroud can't play up top on his own for 90 mins, he's just an impact sub, that's what he's good for. He's not moving enough and creating space for Ozil and Sanchez to run in behind, he slows down our game way too much in the final third. He's great when you need a focal point in a scrappy game or to bully smaller centre-backs but not for a game like that, the opposition crowd the space around him which means Ozil is isolated and has to play backwards, it doesn't work.

Not only do we need change on the pitch, we need change off it. To start with, the atmosphere at the Emirates has been as flat as the team has been on the pitch. Now there are groups trying to make a change and get safe standing introduced and I hope this comes in because I can guarantee that us 2500+ faithful at Hereford FC make more noise than you hear at the Emirates. The best way to get a good atmosphere is have everyone that wants to sing together, like at away games. A louder crowd should help the lads get more motivated, you have to make your home ground a fortress. As much as I respect Arsene Wenger and all he's done for the club, one person is not bigger than the club itself. You could say we're doing better as we're not losing games, but we're drawing too many recently and bringing on subs at 70+ mins isn't helping, how are they supposed to get involved in the game and make a difference if you give them 10 minutes. It feels like deja vu again as an Arsenal fan this season and I think our luck is going to run out soon and we'll end up falling short again, whether it be a bad spell next month or in March/April. I hope I'm wrong but if performances don't improve we're going to get a hammering soon.