Despite talk of pressure mounting on Arsene Wenger after Arsenal’s second 3-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City in five days, the manager insists there are still “a lot of positives” for the Gunners.
Since the start of 2018, Arsenal have only won four matches in all competitions, a run that has seen them fall 10 points outside the Premier League’s top four and exit both domestic cup competitions.
Nottingham Forest sent them packing in the FA Cup and Manchester City recorded a comprehensive 3-0 victory in the EFL Cup final last weekend.
City added further misery with another 3-0 victory over the Gunners in the league on Thursday, while Wenger’s men also lost to Swedish minnows Ostersunds in the Europa League – although they still progressed on aggregate.
Questions are being asked about the quality of Arsenal’s squad, while speculation continues to mount that Wenger could leave a year before his contract expires.
He remains resolute, though, and insists it is not all doom and gloom at the Emirates Stadium.
“We have to analyse in an objective way, the game last night [against City] was not all negative,” he told sky sports.
“There were a lot of positives in that game. With that size of the score, it is always tempting to think it was all rubbish but that was not the case.
“You have to take a perspective, sit back, look at the whole picture and analyse where we were poor and where we were strong and insist on the strong points and get rid of the weak points we showed last night.
“The strong points are that we played at a high intensity, we were quite good going forward but we couldn’t take advantage of the chances we created.
“I think we had the first chances in the game so overall I believe that we had a very dynamic game and put a lot of effort in. It was a pacey game with both teams really going for it.
“They were clinical like they were in the League Cup [final], they took advantage of every weakness we have shown defensively.”
In order to arrest their poor run, Wenger knows Arsenal have to pull together, starting at Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday – a game Jack Wilshere is a doubt for.
“It has taken out confidence and brought big disappointment,” he said. “In football, you lose confidence very quickly and you regain it very slowly and you always have to show strength not to give in.
“When that kind of disappointment comes it divides, it splits and our experience has to help us to stay together and focus on the next games.”
