Arsenal's Anderlecht Escape Simply Papers over the Cracks

Arsenal’s Champions League match with Anderlecht on Wednesday was a very strange encounter.

Two goals in the last two minutes turned the match entirely on its head. Given how poor the Gunners were, however, it’s impossible to say they deserved the 2-1 victory.

Arsenal’s late salvo didn’t so much paper over the cracks as cover them in cling-film. The flaws in this team are still horribly visible. 

This match took place on Arsene Wenger’s 65th birthday. For much of this game, it looked as though the Arsenal starting XI intended to mark the full-time whistle by presenting him with a carriage clock and ushering him into retirement.

Their display was dire. Late goals from Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski might have instantly transformed the scoreline, but memories of the wretched performance will take far longer to erase from the mind. 

Arsenal were in shambles. Their defensive problems are well-known. Without Mathieu Debuchy and Laurent Koscielny, the Gunners are struggling to field a cogent back four. In front of the defence, Mathieu Flamini looks what he is: a player signed for nothing, having initially been given a trial as a favour. 

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

What’s perhaps even more concerning is the way Arsenal struggled to create anything in attack. There’s no flow or zip to Arsenal’s play at present. Wenger’s team have all but lost their identity as great entertainers. Against Anderlecht, the out-of-sorts Aaron Ramsey was seen resorting to long balls into empty spaces. If Alexis Sanchez was a little guilty of trying to do it all on his own, you can hardly blame him. 

After the match, Wenger was typically stout in defence of his team, crediting Anderlecht for their organisation and commitment. Speaking to the BBC after the game, he said:

"

We looked to control the game in the first half. In the second half we opened up and defensively got caught. ... When you have the ball and you don't score or win the games the confidence drops so it was important for us to win.

The group is in our hands. Let's first qualify and see how far we can go.

"

Talk of winning Group D seems premature. Arsenal would presumably need to beat Borussia Dortmund to achieve that feat, and that seems hugely unlikely at present. Wenger must know that he, much like this result, is not fooling anyone. 

Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images

This was not an isolated or anomalous performance. In reality, the Gunners have been unconvincing all season. 

Arsenal have to hope that this result, if not the performance, can mark something of a turning point. This weekend, they’re remarkably fortunate to come up against a side at an even lower ebb in Sunderland. A win there would begin to generate some semblance of momentum.

With the confidence of a couple of good results under their belt, perhaps Arsenal might begin to rediscover their beguiling best.  

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and will be following the club from a London base throughout the 2014/15 season. Follow him on Twitter here.