Gunners toil again

Leicester 1-1 Arsenal

Arsenal produced another somewhat disjointed attacking display against Leicester yesterday to record their second away draw in the space of a week.

Arsene Wenger made changes to his attacking line up which didn’t really help the Gunners to break down a well organised Leicester side.

Once again Ozil was deployed out wide, despite the fact his best position is clearly in the hole behind the centre forward, from where he can slide intricate through balls to those running beyond the striker. It seems slightly absurd to spend so much money on a player and then play him out of position. The fact that Wilshere was rested after enjoying his best game for some time and Cazorla, who has had a poor start to the season by his standards, was chosen to play this role ahead of Ozil made the decision all the more strange.

In the lone striker role, Yaya Sanogo was selected ahead of Sanchez, despite the Chilean having scored and performed so well in this role against Besiktas. Sanogo actually played quite well in bringing the ball down and holding it up, but in front of goal there appears to be something lacking. He doesn’t have the composure required and tends to snatch at chances, failing to make the right contact with the ball and as a result the chance is gone. On the day he had two clear chances to break his duck in a competitive game for Arsenal but fluffed both opportunities.

The first actually indirectly resulted in the Gunners only goal of the game, but highlighted the fact that Sanogo is far from clinical. As the ball was clipped over the Leicester defence, the Frenchman found himself in front of goal with only one thing to do; pull the trigger. A lethal goal scorer would have had no hesitation in doing this, but Sanogo, unsure of himself, allowed the ball to drop and the chance was gone. When he did eventually fire a shot on goal it was easily blocked, with the ball fortunately falling to Sanchez for the Chilean to fire into the empty net.

Sanogo’s second clear opportunity of the day came in the second half following a lovely flowing move from Arsenal. The Gunners brought the ball out of defence, exchanging quick passes before Monreal released Sanogo into the box with a perfectly weighted through pass. Once again however the Frenchman lacked the composure of a clinical finisher. In that position the best strikers in the World have a quick glance at the onrushing goalkeeper before steering the ball past him. Sanogo however only had eyes for the ball, didn’t look up once, and ultimately hit his shot straight at the goalkeeper. These two instances highlighted perfectly why Wenger simply cannot rely on Sanogo alone until Giroud returns from injury in January.

Yet Wenger didn’t help his team either. With Ozil on the right flank and Sanchez on the left, Arsenal had no width to their game. There were numerous occasions when Sanchez was in a one on one situation with the Leicester right back, but rather than take him on, on the outside and cross the ball into the box, the Chilean cut inside time and time again right into the crowded central area of the pitch. As a result, Ramsey was rarely able to make his trademark runs into the box as Arsenal desperately struggled to work the goalkeeper. The statistics at the end of the game showed the Gunners had 24 shots on goal, with only six on target, yet these figures seemed rather generous as it was difficult to remember more than one occasion when the goalkeeper had been called into action.

The main problem for Arsenal is that while they struggle to regain their attacking fluidity, their defence also looks increasingly vulnerable. In all their games so far this season, the Gunners have allowed the opposition their fair share of opportunities and have been fortunate that the majority of these chances haven’t been taken. Having taken an early lead yesterday, the main priority was for the away team to ensure they didn’t concede straight away. But this is exactly what they did as Ulloa took advantage of the injured Koscielny losing his bearings and getting caught under a cross, to head the equaliser past Szczesny.

In fact Arsenal were all over the place at times when it came to defending. While they enjoyed plenty of possession and ultimately didn’t do much with it, the Gunners were always in danger of getting caught out on the break. Ulloa should have given the home side the lead in the second half when he was sent through in the box. Callum Chambers made the mistake of diving in as Ulloa cut back inside, allowing the Argentine all the time in the World to shoot on goal. Fortunately for the Gunners, Ulloa’s shot hit the side netting. Leicester broke clear in similar vein once again in the closing stages of the game, this time Jamie Vardy forcing Szczesny into a fine save from a tight angle.      

At the final whistle, the Arsenal players couldn’t hide their disappointment at only taking a draw from a game in which they had enjoyed so much possession but lacked any real creativity or cutting edge. Wenger indicated to the press that he would be very active on the final day of the transfer window, but why he has left it so late is difficult to understand. If he now does sign a striker on a permanent deal it would show that he doesn’t feel his forward options are sufficient even when Giroud is fit. In which case a signing should have been made earlier in the summer. Wenger’s enquiry regarding a player who has been available all summer, Loic Remy, when the Frenchman had practically already sealed his move to Chelsea, was just embarrassing. Even if Arsenal do manage to secure the services of a striker before the window slams shut, there will still be gaping holes at centre back and defensive midfield which the manager will have once again failed to address. After a summer which promised so much with the signing of Alexis Sanchez there is a sense of frustration and despondency once again at the Emirates.