Arsenal Must Recapture Fighting Spirit at All Costs After Anderlecht Draw

After establishing a three-goal lead against Belgian champions Anderlecht, Arsenal imploded in spectacular fashion, downing tools and allowing their visitors to claw back a point in a 3-3 draw.

Mikel Arteta's penalty and Alexis Sanchez's unstoppable volley fired Arsene Wenger's side into the lead in the Champions League tie on Tuesday.  Then, after going in at half-time two goals to the good, the Gunners furthered their advantage through Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's effort.

With 30 minutes of football to play, defensive abandon wreaked havoc.

The fighting spirit—the never-say-die attitude that had become typical of Arsenal in some of their recent fixtures—vanished.

Anthony Vanden Borre's brace was followed by Aleksandar Mitrovic's headed equaliser to ensure a collapse like few in recent memory.

For fans, the result sent shock waves of despair and humiliation as if it were a loss to a bitter rival.  Boos dominated the Emirates Stadium at the final whistle, as the home crowd could scarcely believe Anderlecht's great escape.

The scant consolation for Arsenal is that they remain on track to qualify from Group D since the top two finishers advance to the round of 16:

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That also nigh on confirms Arsenal's 2nd place finish in Group D.  A last 16 match with Bayern? Real? Take your pick, it doesn't look great

— Callum Mackenzie (@callumlarr) November 4, 2014"

The inquisition into Arsenal's complacent catastrophe has begun in earnest. 

Goalscorer Oxlade-Chamberlain offered his view into what may have been the cause:

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When you are 3-0 up you can’t afford to have any complacency at this level because you get punished. We were at Anderlecht a couple of weeks ago in a similar position to what they are now so we should know better than anyone that the game is not over until the final whistle.

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Arsenal's fragility at the back on Tuesday stemmed largely from personnel issues that exacerbated the poor mentality the players had. 

Lining up with Nacho Monreal—a left-back by trade—alongside Per Mertesacker did naught to ease pre-match nerves. 

With only teenage full-back Hector Bellerin providing defensive cover off the bench, those nerves were exacerbated tenfold.

A mix of positional errors, lapses in judgment and a loss of concentration was largely to blame for allowing Anderlecht back into a game they had no right to draw. 

From Monreal conceding the penalty for the second goal to the complacency in positioning and decision-making epitomised by Aaron Ramsey and substitute Lukas Podolski, there were few blameless names in the side. 

The Guardian's David Hytner took a similar view:

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There were individual errors at the back from Nacho Monreal and Per Mertesacker – the former lost the Anderlecht substitute, Aleksandar Mitrovic, before pulling him down to concede the penalty for Anthony Vanden Borre’s second goal while the latter lost Mitrovic on the equaliser.

But they were not the only ones to blame.

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Of course, Wenger has been forced to name this relatively inexperienced and fragile back line because of injuries to key players. 

Mathieu Debuchy has been absent for almost two months now, and Mertesacker's partner of choice, Laurent Koscielny, also remains sidelined due to injury.

With the personnel he has remaining, Wenger has been able to patch together a back four with a semblance of solidity.  However, even bright performances from Calum Chambers and Kieran Gibbs cannot mask the fragility of the centre-backs.

Monreal clearly is not comfortable at the defence's core.  And without his favoured Frenchman, Mertesacker often looks lost and even uninterested, even taking culpability as such (Sky Sports):

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Personally it is difficult at the moment because that was really a long season last year and to come back from that World Cup and get the motivation back.

I am nearly back, but you can feel there is something missing at the moment. With those games, the belief and the mentality is there, but the motivation will come back.

"

Before Tuesday, though, Arsenal hadn't necessarily been struggling with this makeshift defensive unit. 

Only one goal conceded in the last three competitive fixtures is hardly a bad record, even if two of those games were against Premier League strugglers Sunderland and Burnley.

A hallmark of those last three games—especially the Anderlecht game at Constant Vanden Stock, where they stole a 2-1 late win—was a true fighting spirit.

When faced with a stout defence or presented with objectives that got ever greater as time ticked away, Wenger's men refused to let the game slip away.

That spirit has been embodied by Alexis Sanchez, who was again superb on Tuesday.  Yet even the Chilean couldn't stop the white flags his side waved Anderlecht's way.

Arsenal cannot change their defensive personnel until January, and they won't realistically see improvement until Koscielny returns from injury. He has ruled out through early December, while Debuchy out at least through December, according to The Telegraph's Jeremy Wilson. 

So what is crucial is to restore that gritty attitude, to fight tooth and nail in every game, no matter the scoreline.

It had been making the defence appear stronger than it actually may be. 

Looking forward to Swansea City on Sunday, that ethic will have to be restored to fend off Wilfried Bony and company.

Arsenal can barely afford any more slip-ups in the league as they continue to lose ground to league-leading Chelsea, who have a nine-point lead with 26.  They have to take charge at the Liberty Stadium—an aggressive mentality will be crucial.

What do you make of Arsenal's defensive situation at present and how can it be helped?  Leave a comment below, or reach out to Callum on Twitter.