Six games unbeaten but thoughts of invincibility couldn’t be further from Arsene Wenger’s mind. Not when he feels so exposed.
Arsenal’s manager had a lot to consider after this north London derby, not least how he finds his squad threadbare in defence and midfield after £76million of summer spending.
The latter of those departments was decimated here — Jack Wilshere hurting his right ankle and Aaron Ramsey and Mikel Arteta falling to respective hamstring and calf injuries. Wenger sought an investigation into how Ramsey and Arteta’s injuries could occur after being rested against Southampton in midweek, though his more pressing concern is that his midfield screen team will now miss this week’s crucial games against Galatasaray and Chelsea.
The loss of Ramsey, brilliant for 45 minutes before injury against Spurs, will doubtless sting a side struggling to convert chances. But Arteta’s absence is more immediately significant considering the lack of rearguard options available, with Mathieu Flamini filling the gap on Saturday and making the mistake that allowed Nacer Chadli to score Spurs’ opener. Wilshere will be assessed further today, but is likely to miss Wednesday’s Galatasaray tie.
‘I can play in midfield,’ was Wenger’s take on the dilemma. ‘I would consider playing Calum Chambers there. But I only have four defenders at the moment. Flamini is the only option I see.’
Chambers himself is throwing up something of an issue. The England defender, deputising at right back for the injured Mathieu Debuchy, is looking with each game to be a superb signing at £12m and 19 years old.
But he’s also acquired four yellow cards and is one from a defence-wrecking suspension. Arsenal had no specialist defenders on the bench, though Wenger will not curb Chambers’ style.
‘He has to play his game,’ Wenger said. ‘The fact he is keen and committed maybe sometimes leads him to commit spectacular fouls.
‘It’s remarkable what he’s doing at the age of 19. It’s not often you see that quality at his age.’
Quality around the opposition box, particularly from corners, would have made the difference on Saturday. Arsenal had 16 shots to Tottenham’s six, but could only draw for the fourth time this term.
Mesut Ozil was only fleetingly impressive, while Danny Welbeck was poor and £35m forward Alexis Sanchez started on the bench. Wenger indicated Welbeck and Sanchez lack confidence.
‘We need to give some time to Welbeck and Sanchez to gain some confidence,’ Wenger said. ‘But we have Ramsey, (Alex) Oxlade-Chamberlain, Ozil and Santi Cazorla so we have enough players who can score.’
Asked if Sanchez was struggling with confidence, Wenger said: ‘He has scored goals, until now. I’m sure he’ll score 15 to 20 goals.’
Spurs nearly emerged from a jerky performance with a win, only for Oxlade-Chamberlain to equalise late on. Mauricio Pochettino said: ‘The players need time to adapt to our philosophy because we play in a different system.’
Arsenal (4-2-3-1):Szczesny 6; Chambers 6.5, Mertesacker 6.5, Koscielny 6, Gibbs 6; Ramsey 7 (Cazorla 45, 6) Arteta 6 (Flamini 28, 5); Oxlade-Chamberlain 8, Ozil 6, Wilshere 6 (Sanchez 63, 6); Welbeck 5. Subs not used: Rosicky, Podolski, Ospina, Coquelin. Booked: Oxlade-Chamberlain, Wilshere, Chambers.
Tottenham (4-2-3-1):Lloris 7.5; Naughton 5.5, Kaboul 7.5, Vertonghen 6, Rose 5.5 (Dier 83); Mason 6, Capoue 5.5; Chadli 7 (Bentaleb 80), Eriksen 6.5 (Lennon 63, 5.5), Lamela 6; Adebayor 5. Subs not used: Soldado, Vorm, Townsend, Fazio. Booked: Lamela, Chadli, Adebayor, Lennon, Mason, Rose.
Referee: Michael Oliver 6.5
Man of the match: Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain
After three games without a win, Galatasary — who travel to the Emirates on Wednesday — beat Sivasspor 2-1 in the Turkish Super League to ease the pressure on new manager Cesare Prandelli, formerly at the helm of the Italian national team.
Former Inter Milan and Real Madrid midfielder Wesley Sneijder (right) was on show as Prandelli’s men triumphed over Roberto Carlos’ Sivasspor side thanks to first-half strikes from Aurelien Chedjou and Burak Yilmaz — moving them up to fourth in the table.
Arsenal have scored 11 goals this season, but their chance conversion rate of 16.9 per cent is only the 11th best in the league.– Daily Mail