LONDON, Sporting Alert – Arsenal fans, I know it is pretty early in the season, but seeing the Gunners at the bottom of the table standings at any time during the term cannot be comforting.
Arsene Wenger’s side was stunned 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday by a more determined West Ham United team, which left some of the supporters a bit grumpy.
Arsenal, to be honest, never really showed up for that fixture and while most of the finger-pointing have been directed at new goalkeeper Petr Cech for his mistakes in both goals, the entire team must take the blame for the meltdown.
Cech misjudged a brilliant delivery played in the box by Hammers new boy Dimitri Payet and when the former Chelsea goalkeeper completely missed his attempt to punch away the ball, Cheikhou Kouyate was right on spot to head home for the lead.
The veteran shot-stopper was criticized for carelessly leaving his line and for being too soft with his attempt to punch clear, but several pundits and former Arsenal legends blasted the players in front of him for not defending properly inside the box, which ultimately left Kouyate unmarked.
Cech was also scrutinized for the second goal conceded by title contenders – with the pundits suggesting that he wasn’t “positioned” well enough to deal with the long-range shot from Mauro Zárate.
Video evidence showed that the Czech Republic man might have been slightly blindsided by defender Laurent Koscielny when he was on his way to the left before being beaten on his right.
Although Cech must shoulder some of the blame in the defeat, he cannot be the focus of the disastrous display from the Gunners.
It is visible that Arsenal, who have signed just one player in this transfer window, simply haven’t strengthened enough and it could be a crisis if they don’t address this matter.
Signing Cech was seeing as the missing piece in the jigsaw puzzle for the Gunners to launch their title onslaught, and while the veteran keeper will shake off Sunday’s mishaps and come good over the course of the season, his capture alone will not be enough for Wenger’s side to win the title.
It’s clear Arsenal need a proven goalscorer, but the decision by Wenger to start Olivier Giroud over Theo Walcott against West Ham has been viewed by many as a poor choice by the Frenchman.
Giroud, although gifted with the strength and technical attributes to deal with the demands of the Premier League, he lacked the pace needed and Walcott would have been the better option to breakdown the Hammers backline.
The London giants need more recruits and former midfielder Ray Parlour is calling for Wenger to go after a world-class striker.
It is believed Karim Benzema, the Real Madrid French international, is the man everyone wants to see at the Emirates, but will Wenger offer the kind of money the Spanish giants are asking for?
“If you look at Man City, you know Sergio Aguero is their main man, for Manchester United it’s Wayne Rooney and at Chelsea, it’s Diego Costa. Who is it at Arsenal?” Parlour told Sky Sports News HQ.
“I didn’t know who would start for Arsenal on Sunday because Theo Walcott started the Community Shield.
“I don’t think they have someone who you can say ‘he’s definitely going to play and he will score us goals.'”
