Today’s performance by Arsenal kind of verifies what Arsene Wenger said about his struggling side yesterday. The oft-quoted passage is below, and the Gunners needing an own goal to edge a Newcastle side playing with just ten men does nothing to alleviate the concerns of Gunners supporters everywhere. It was a 1-0 win, and they took all three points, but it was not a game that screams “title contender.”
Said Arsene Wenger in the press conference previewing today’s match:
“Maybe we do not fire on all cylinders at the moment, not everybody is ready physically. By definition, finishing is [cyclical], it goes in cycles, finishing qualities come and go, and you do not always know why, but certainly at the moment we want it so much at home that we want to force it. It doesn’t look natural enough.”
“Our results away from home and goalscoring opportunities and finishing percentage has been higher recently. … Teams come and defend very deep at home (Emirates Stadium). As long as we have not scored the first goal, it’s maybe more difficult to open the defenses. In recent games, that’s what happened to us.”
If Arsenal are to truly contend for the Premier League championship this season, they certainly haven’t looked the part thus far. Perhaps Arsene Wenger will have to go out and sign a major addition to his roster before the transfer window closes on Tuesday.
Paul M. Banks owns, operates and writes The Sports Bank.net, which is part of the FOX Sports Engage Network. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes to the Chicago Tribune RedEye edition. He also appears regularly on numerous talk radio stations all across the country. Catch him Tuesdays on KOZN 1620 the Zone.
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