Arsenal only have themselves to blame for the two defeats

The two games Arsenal played exposed the two areas where Arsenal has been lacking for few years now – Defensive concentration and Individual mistakes. The defeat to Brighton is more worrying than defeat to Manchester City. It is never good to lose a game in the last minute of the game. But Arsenal didn’t particularly play well throughout the game, despite creating many chances. There were 5 changes made to the starting line-up from the Manchester City game. While some changes were forced, others were tactical. Let’s look at the below 3 pointers that affected the game.

Pepe’s position

A tactical change where Hector Bellerin moved in midfield leaving the right channel intentionally open for defenders to make direct passes to Nicholas Pepe. As a result, Pepe was dropping in midfield more than usual, either receiving ball with back against the goal or trying to control long balls. All through the game, at least 5 long balls were fed to Pepe from Rob Holding and Mustafi that resulted in nothing. This is not an area of pitch where you want Pepe to spend most of the game, rendering Dani Ceballos ineffective on right side of midfield with Bellerin occupying similar position. To maximize Pepe’s talent, he needs to receive the ball facing the goal and as close to the goal as possible. And for that to happen, a midfielder must be a link between defense and Pepe. Take a look at the position where he received the ball for his brilliant goal.

The Laca-Auba effect

There is not denying that Aubameyang and Lacazatte are brilliant players individually, but they do form a special partnership on the pitch. Their understanding is evident not only in creating chances for each other, but also in general game play and collective pressing off the ball. Let’s look at their stats - Lacazatte and Aubameyang created 4 chances for each other, Lacazatte has 2 shots on goal and Aubameyang had 4 shots on goal. And even more intriguing stats that shows Bukayo Saka’s versatility and efficiency – 7 chances were created between Saka, Lacazatte and Aubameyang. Lacazatte MUST play every game to save this season for Arsenal.

Defensive Concentration

I know its easier said than done, but concentration lapses in defense have cost Arsenal big time in past and in the Brighton game as well. For the first goal Arsenal conceded, I was gutted to see Pepe leaving Dani alone in 2v1 situation from a corner. I would expect someone from Arsenal’s defensive core shouting at Pepe to hold his position near the corner. But didn’t happen! The second goal scored by Brighton had a good dummy and movement in their build-up, but Arsenal's lack of anticipation made it to look like a great goal. Every Arsenal player involved was only reacting to situation rather anticipating or forcing a foul to stop a player in dying minutes of the game.

Finally, it will be crucial to see how Arsenal will start their next game. If they concede a goal in the first 10-15 minutes, their chances for Europe will be as good as done. For Arsenal to turn this around, not only will they have to fix areas of their game, but also will need all the luck they can have.