Arsenal Capitulate Against Anderlecht as Defensive Problems Rear Their Head

Arsenal are back. After two suspiciously comfortable clean sheets in succession, chaos has returned to the Gunners back line. The diabolical defending that has dogged their 2014/15 season thus far has returned. 

It goes without saying that Arsenal should have won this game. Even before kick-off, Anderlecht’s atrocious record against English sides made Arsene Wenger’s team clear favourites. When Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain put his team up 3-0 after 58 minutes, defeat seemed unthinkable.

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Then came the collapse. Arsenal conceded three goals in 30 mad minutes to throw away the victory. 

Before the match, Wenger spoke to Jeremy Wilson of The Daily Telegraph about the importance of having a solid defensive base to the team:

"

To attack with freedom you need to also think, ‘okay I can go,’ and be sure you will be secure defensively. In the modern game the physical levels have done up – every one is quicker – so you cannot guarantee that you will score three or four goals in every game. 

I’m an attacking manager, but when you need to score four goals to win the game it’s one hell of a mountain to climb. 

"

How portentous those words seem now. Arsenal would have needed four goals to beat Anderlecht on Tuesday. Their defensive problems give them an insurmountable handicap.

A lot of it stems back to the summer. It’s well-trodden ground, but Arsenal simply didn’t get the number of defensive recruits they needed. In this match, Arsenal were forced to field Nacho Monreal at centre-back. His inexperience in the position showed when he gave away a cheap penalty.

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When Mikel Arteta went off with a thigh injury, Wenger introduced Mathieu Flamini. A team’s defensive midfielder should be a reliable lynchpin. On recent form, Flamini is more like a headless chicken. With a proper centre-back and a superior holding midfield player, Arsenal would surely have stood a far greater chance of seeing out the win.

Nevertheless, the XI out there still ought to have had enough to safeguard a three-goal lead. No professional player can tolerate letting that kind of advantage slip. After the match, Wenger was uncharacteristically critical of his side. He told Arsenal.com:

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We dropped off too much and didn’t go into the challenges any more. Then you’re always open. We stopped winning the challenges and we dropped off and off and off. We were always open and we didn’t stop the crosses, we didn’t stop the long balls and I don’t especially think we were outnumbered. In the first half it happened, in the second half it was bad defending more than being outnumbered.

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It’s easy to be wise after the event. If Wenger could see the problems so clearly, why didn’t he do more during the game to deal with them? The team are acting under his instruction, after all.

There are things to be excited about at Arsenal. Oxlade-Chamberlain put in a superb display that suggested he is beginning to fulfill his enormous potential. Alexis Sanchez scored another outstanding goal. The Chilean is regularly lighting up the Emirates Stadium with his all-action displays. However, if Arsenal continue to defend this poorly, all that attacking ability will come to nothing. Without firm foundations, Arsenal will struggle to achieve their goals this season.

James McNicholas is Bleacher Report's lead Arsenal correspondent and has been nominated as the best Established Football Blogger at the Football Blog Awards. Click here to vote for him.