Arsenal Vs. Stoke: Another Example Of The Gunners' Achilles Heel

Twice in two years. First Eduardo gets his ankle chopped in half by Martin Taylor, then Aaron Ramsey gets broken by a hard Ryan Shawcross tackle. Both injuries are from matches against lower-tier sides that employ bruising tactics against Arsenal.

Arsene Wenger will tell anyone who listens that the rest of the league is only interested in kicking his youngsters into early retirement. Hyperbole is the Frenchman's strong suit, but he does have a point. Arsenal have been pushed and bullied out of the title for the past six years.

Long gone are the days of Tony Adams and "One-Nil to Arsenal," Wenger has constructed a side that can pass and dance its way to three or four goals a game. Arsenal fans pride themselves in backing a side that keeps the artistry alive in a league where physical, athletic, and tactical sides are becoming the stereotype to the English game.

So what can you do against a side that can pass circles around you and score goals at will? Most teams in the Premier League resort to pushing Arsenal off the ball and punishing them for their lack of strength. Arsene and the Gunners can decry it all they want, but this strategy works, and this is why the lower-tier sides that can't compete technically with Arsenal will always try to out-muscle them.

Can you blame sides like Stoke for trying pull a draw, or even the rare win, over a top four side with an obvious weakness for physicality? No, you can't. Even as an Arsenal fan, you have to realize that it is Arsene's responsibility to bring players that can shore up the midfield and back line to protect the team.

That is why I find it amazing that most of these players and Arsene Wenger are coming after Ryan Shawcross with such vigor. Ryan Shawcross is as much of a competitor as anybody in the Premier League, he is a young English defender with a bright future. His approach to defending is old-school, much like a Jaime Carragher or a John Terry. He tackles hard and as fair as possible. He wants to win the ball, and he wants to impose himself of the opposing forwards.

Yes, Ryan Shawcross should not have gone as high as he did, yes, Ryan Shawcross does carry the blame for breaking Aaron Ramsey's ankle into pieces, but Ryan Shawcross does not differentiate himself from any other Premier League back that would do the same thing to any Arsenal player.

It is Arsene's responsibility to address this weakness in a prodigiously talented and young Arsenal. It is up to the players to compete against this treatment, especially players like Denilson and Alex Song, who try to fill the large shoes of Gilberto Silva and Patrick Vieira. Since the departure of Mathieu Flamini, Arsenal have lacked a midfield enforcer that can not only win the ball, but protect the will of the team.

The saying goes, if bullies push you, you have to push back. Arsenal have failed to do that for some time. It is up to the players and the manager to bring that fighting spirit back. Aesthetics will always win you fans, but all the great champions of the game have that internal fire and will to push against anything the opposition throws at them.