Arsenal's Weak Spots: Four Things That Could Ruin Their Season

“Yes, know thyself: in great concerns or small, Be this thy care, for this, my friend, is all.”—Juvenal, Roman poet.

Juvenal is right. Knowing yourself will significantly improve your chances of success in everything you do. Knowing yourself means to know your strengths, that with which you will push for success, and to know your weaknesses, that which you have to guard and improve.

The same rule applies to football; the same applies to Arsenal.

Every team has its own strengths and weaknesses. But what are Arsenal’s? And most importantly in a time of positives what is its negatives? What to guard from? What can ruin their good form, their season; what can counter their display of strength if left untended? Let’s look into it.

Defensive Frailty

One of the most obvious weakness in Arsene Wenger’s squad, and one that could ruin yet another title challenge, is the lack of depth in defence.

Thomas Vermaelen was bought in the summer transfer window, but Kolo Toure was allowed to switch for greener pastures, Manchester City. Now, while the Vermaelen swap might have proven to be a successful move, little can be done if either one of the current first-choice centre backs gets injured or restricted from playing in one way or another.

Vermaelen and Gallas have stricken a good partnership contributing to the team with not only quality defending, but also with important goals—nine in total.

It is looking good so far, but I won’t be surprised to see Wenger sweating there on the touch line every match, hoping neither one of those rocks in defence gets injured.

The players that could serve as replacement if such case arises are Philipe Senderos and Michael Silvestre, who are not known for their stability in defending. More than once they have made crucial mistakes. It is quite obvious that they would not be able to adequately replace the two current starters.

The absence of another defender, Johan Djourou, who is going to be out for another four to six months, does not relieve the situation in any way as well.

The ice at the back certainly looks thinner than elsewhere for the time being.

Over-reliance on One Player

Arsenal has felt the effects of a similar kind of mistake, when Henry was the player who was relied on to push the team forward. The results were that the progress of certain players at the team was blocked and the momentary form of one player, Henry, corresponded to the form of the whole team.

Currently, one player stands out from all the rest with splendid performances and that is Arsenal’s captain Cesc Fabregas.

His work rate is terrific; he passes the ball perfectly, battles for the ball, and scores goals. He has contributed with the unbelievable nine goals and 10 assists in 15 appearances so far. But it would be wrong to rely solely on him to make results. Why you may ask?

Because a one dimensional team such as the one that relies on one player is easy to defeat. With the presence of Van Persie and significant others, the team currently doesn’t have problems of this kind.

Complacency

There is nothing worse than to ruin the effects of a lot of hard work by smugly giving yourself a rest at vital time of the season or the game. Trophies and victories do not go to the most talented team. In most cases, it is the harder-working team that gets all the points and trophies.

Complacency when the work is not done is typical when a certain lack of maturity is present. Arsenal has experienced its share of complacent displays in the recent years. With such a youthful squad, it did not come as a genuine surprise to many.

At present time, a lot of the Arsenal youthful players have gained the invaluable experience, and beneficial suffering, which in a way decreases the possibility of complacency. Still, it is something that can be influenced by other factors as well—lack of adequate leadership on the field being one.

With the ever-improving Fabregas and the maturing young players, Arsenal is going on the right track, but matches like the one against West-Ham still remind for the complacency-ridden years in the past.

Goal Keeper

The goal keeper position is one of the most important ones in a football team.

The team relies on the performance of one man in their quest for results. If the goal keeper is not playing well, the whole hard work of the other members of the team could go to down the drain in just seconds.

Since David Seaman, Arsenal has always had problems at this position.

Lehmann, his replacement, was good, but he couldn’t offer the stability and mental tranquillity to his team-mates because he was simply unpredictable.

Similar is the situation with Manuel Almunia. He has very good shot-stopping skills and can be a world-class keeper. But here is where the problem emerges: He can be adequate for the position in one match, and then he can make mistakes that prove crucial for the result in another.

He is inconsistent.

Almunia’s backup players are Lukasz Fabianski, Vito Mannone, and Wojceich Szczesny. They are young keepers who are patiently waiting for their chance to shine.

Fabianski has shown that he can be a stable keeper, but also that he is quite injury prone. Injuries have restricted his development, but still he will get his chance.

Mannone performed quite well for the several matches he played in the absence of Manuel Almunia due to injury. He made some great quality saves, hinting for his world-class potential as a goal keeper. But he will need time. As will Szczesny. So, the goal keeping problem still remains an issue for Wenger.

If Wenger’s project is close to completion, the goal keeper will be one of his finishing touches. The January transfer window could strengthen this weak spot for the Gunners. It remains to be seen if Arsene Wenger will think it necessary to do something about it.