It is now three defeats in four Premier League games for Arsenal after yesterday’s 3-0 home loss against Aston Villa.
The Gunners were unable to build on the momentum of last Sunday’s 1-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford as they were ripped apart on their own turf.
It could have been worse than 3-0 for Mikel Arteta’s side and Gunners legend Ian Wright shared his displeasure on Match of the Day 2, 10:45pm, 08/11.
Wright was clearly frustrated with the display from his former club, stating that the work rate was not at the level it needed to be.
“It’s as bad a performance as I’ve seen from an Arsenal side,” said Wright. “When you consider only two of them were playing in the week.
“It was poor in every department. A million miles away from the performance against Man United. Even if they did score, it wouldn’t have made any difference. Ross Barkley, no-one is aware of him. Look how much time he’s got, look how much space he’s got.
“They were streets ahead of us today. The effort and work rate today from a team that was rested was nowhere near good enough. You can’t go into a game with that attitude and expect to win.”
Consistency is the key for Arsenal and it will be so frustrating for Arteta to see his side let the momentum generated by last weekend’s Old Trafford win dissipate.
As Wright says, Arsenal’s players should have been fresh with nine of them getting midweek rests.
Villa have shown themselves to be capable of shaking up elite teams this season and they did it again here.
A huge issue for Arsenal right now is creating chances, especially against deep defences.
But as Wright says, those tactical problems aren’t as significant as a lack of effort and desire. Without those basics, it’s tough to win any game.
