Arsenal were made to wait for the Champions League qualification on Tuesday night after Anderlecht salvaged a 3-3 draw from the Emirates Stadium depriving the Gunners of three vital points. Even after a 3-0 lead at the hour mark of the encounter, Arsenal somehow effectively blew their chances of winning the Group D and with Borussia Dortmund winning in the night’s other game.
A penalty from Mikel Arteta’s and a bullet strike from the in-form Alexis Sanchez gave the Gunners a comfortable half time lead. But after adding a third goal to the scoreline in the second half, the North London club failed to withstand a spirited fight-back from their opponents. Wenger was unhappy that his side allowed Anderlecht back into the game and the misery was compounded by Aleksandar Mitrovic’s injury time equalizer.
Overall defensively they were poor from the first to the last minute today. The team also had a bit of bad luck because the first goal was later discovered to be a result of poor refereeing. The Anderlecht striker Vanden Borre was found offside while attempting to shoot. But then there was a lack of concentration because players thought the job was done. When Anderlecht came back to 3-2, maybe the team wanted to be secure by scoring the fourth but meanwhile, the defenders were not cautious enough and they had to pay the price. Anyhow if we look at the second and third goals, they were also a result of poor defending.
Wenger said after the match that he wasn’t completely sure whether his team were in danger or not as we could see that throughout the whole game the Gunners did not defend well.
In spite of a draw, this game may be considered as a loss for the Gunners as they failed to build up on the early lead provided by the strikers. After the continuous disappointments by the defence line up of the team it has become a huge concern for the entire team. Wenger may have come up with something innovative as well as effective as soon as possible if Arsenal want to get back on the winners list.
