Arsenal are on the verge of signing serial goalscorer, Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, and Gunners’ fans are quite elated with this - quite rightly so - as the Gabonese forward is truly world class and will guarantee goals in quantum. However, he is pretty far from what they need right now and after yesterday’s abysmal show at Swansea, they are probably better off without him.
To put it plainly, Arsenal needs a total overhaul of their defensive unit, this was all too evident In last night’s 3-1 defeat at The Liberty stadium as every Arsenal defender direclty contributed to each of Swansea’s goals. For the first goal, right back, Hector Bellerin was MIA on his side of the defence while Koscielny failed to track the run of goalscorer, Clucas. The second goal was as amateurish as it was comical. Goalkeeper, Petr Cech miscued a clearance an experienced stopper should have dealt with and the ball fell kindly to Ayew who simply tapped the ball home. The third goal was a very poor one to conceed, even for their low defensive standards. Firstly, left back, Nacho Monreal, made a mess of a simple clearance on the left and it allowed Swansea’s Ayew to run at the defence, however, center backs Mustafi and Koscielny should have dealt with the run and the subsequent cut back, but then again, they are defenders in an Arsenal team so you cant expect much from these bunch, can you? These defensive issues have plagued Arsenal all season and Aubameyang cannot fix them.
Their midfield also lacks proper defensive cover, Elneny is too limited a player while Xhaka has the speed of an injured snail. Ramsey and Wilshere lack proper defensive discipline amd will therefore struggle to proivide adequate shield for the midfield. Once again, Aubameyang’s impending arrival will not solve this.
Oh well, there’s a popular saying that the best form of defence is attack, but ermmm, an excellent Kevin De Bryune through ball or an incisive run from Saido Mane will probably drag that saying to the mud so Wenger had better sign a real defender as quick as possible if he has any hopes of salvaging anything from what has been a poor season so far. 