Arsenal’s second-half capitulation in Watford on Super Sunday was like watching a’semi-pro’ staff, states Graeme Souness.
Arsenal threw away the points via two mistakes, Following being 2-0 up through a Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang double. Until David Luiz gave away Sokratis Papastathopoulos attempted to play for Tom Cleverley, only of the back to capitalise and halve the deficit.
Arsenal have conceded seven goals in their past few games and Souness did not return from the Sky Sports studio in his assessment of the Gunners.
“They capitulated in the second halfof Arsenal. They did not win a struggle. You ought to be scratching your head if you’re an Arsenal supporter seeing that. It’s two teams. It’s like here’s another one later half-time, and the first team at the first half. Proper teams don’t play like that.
“Arsenal in the second half were similar to a semi-professional team playing football. By that I mean that they weren’t learning from the mistakes they had been performing and time again.”
Souness questioned when leading 2-1 in the second 22, why Unai Emery caused Joe Willock and Reiss Nelson.
“They bring on some kids, which was a match at which 2-1 it was time to dig in and regroup, make sure they didn’t lose the match, and they should’ve lost it. When the children came on they were all over the place, it was like a sport of basketball and if you’re an Arsenal fan, which would deeply, deeply worry you.”
The first goal came by a Bernd Leno aim kick, something seen again at the Premier League this year after rules changed allowing the ball in the box to collect from Papastathopoulos’ pass out of defence.
However, Souness said Arsenal must have gone after a signal from the first half.
“There are mature players in this type of defence. As a manager, you hope your players that are bigger, it does not need to be the ones that are oldest, operate it out that they’re likely to concede.
“Why did the huge players not say’let’s go long with it for 10 minutes and see where it takes us’, because persisting with it was going to cost them, and they’re fortunate it only cost one.”
One of the top players Granit Xhaka, around the afternoon of Arsenal confessed Arsenal were’fearful’ from the second half, but said playing out from the trunk was among several issues, not the sole problem.
“Everything was incorrect [in the second half]we didn’t play our game, we were fearful , we know they would push us in the second half but we have to show more personality and play, rather than be fearful. You can’t offer a performance in this way.
“We train for short goal yells, of course mistakes are here but it is not a justification. The next time we must do better, we must analyse and we’ll see what happens. It was not just this situation that was an issue – it was the entire second half.”
Back at the studio, Souness reacted to Xhaka’s interview by asking:’How do Arsenal be scared?’
“They are saying that they were scared – I have never been scared at a game of football in my entire life. I don’t understand it. In the game program, Arsenal were permitted to have the ball, Watford dropped off.
“It’s easy to play when nobody’s coming after you, in mind. I could’ve played in the first half that Arsenal team of the But the entire thing changes when Watford are allowed off the guide, you’re faced with somebody who’s going through youpersonally, and they did not stand up for it.
“Sometimes you have to have a hat for one sort of game, and yet another hat on for a different. Arsenal proved today they can only play 1 way – they can not go to war”
Talking after the match to Sky Sports, Arsenal manager Emery said the ball from goal strikes would have induced his side to drop the battle that was physical at midfield, and admits his side should learn from their errors.
“Attempting the long ball, they are stronger than us, and they have been winning that ball. We wanted to split the line and connect with Mesut [Ozil], just like we did with the goal.
“It was two different halves. In the first we commanded the game we wanted, for our errors they pushed in the minute, and we did more than we wanted to do. We will need to consider how we can enhance, how we can perform.
“We can grow up with all the mistakes and find out for the future matches. Knowing they’d do more, and at the next half we had to perform exactly the job, although we said which 2-0 is not enough. They did that, and the lines couldn’t split.
“I continue with our way of functioning. We will need to enhance, take some advice from this game. We can be disappointed, but we learn about that.”
Arsenal go to Eintracht Frankfurt within their first Europa League group stage clash on Thursday at 5.55pm, before hosting Aston Villa at the Premier League on Sunday at 4.30pm.
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