Europe on their mind caused slip in long November


Corner

By Joe Eastham
November 25 2004

Before the match Arsenal Times warned that a "possible problem may be that Arsenal are in the Champions League midweek and could be tempted to ease off. If they were to do that, just like they did against the Saints, it could be tempting fate."

The Long November

 Wenger in his post match press conference stated that after going 1-0 up and dominating the match for quite a while the team's mind may have turned to Europe. He also felt that the failure to score a second goal began to prey on the defence's mind.

The other problem Wenger has now got is that he cannot refresh the squad, or switch things about very much. A lot of the players were on International duty this week and few of them were rested, the injury list is alarminly long.

This is probably the worst of our annual November poor spells for a long time. Fortunately Chelski slipped up as well, Bolton showed  that if you have a go at their defence they too get edgy. This was not good preparation for PSV but if Campbelll returns morale might lift. That is not a kock at Cygan, and fans would do well to remember that we threw away leads against Rosenborg and Panathinaikos with Campbell playing.

It might be that the problem is also a matter for the midfield as well and there is not a simple solution. The coaches have got to cure the throwing a lead away syndrome that has developed.

Bookmark or share this story with:

 

StreamFootball - Arsenal