Per Mertesacker Distributing Blame Equally for Arsenal’s Anderlecht Collapse

Mikel Arteta and Arsene Wenger have already come out and stated their thoughts on the game, so naturally it’s Per Mertesacker who seeks to speak next. However, the giant German is usually pretty mum on his feelings, so it begs to be noticed when he does lash out to the media.

Here’s what the lumbering lug had to say, as reported by the London Evening Standard:

"“When we drop sometimes everyone has to be involved to defend. You can’t afford for just five or six players to defend, or just the back four. That is what we lacked especially in the final third and in the last 20 minutes. “We have to defend better as a team. We did not stop them (Anderlecht) playing and they are good at it. As you could see, even in the final third, when you do not put them under pressure, they can deliver good balls through the middle. They can cause trouble and we just left them playing. So in general that was the problem.”"

Of all the blame game playing, Per Mertesacker actually makes the most sense. When the team has a defensive shortage as it does, with an undersized Monreal slotting in at centerback, it really does fall on the shoulders of predominantly attacking players to fall back and help with the defense, especially in a 3-0 lead.

More from Pain in the Arsenal

• 3 observations from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park
• 3 standout players from 1-0 victory over Everton
• 3 positives & negatives from Goodison Park victory
• Arsenal vs PSV preview: Prediction, team news & lineups
• 3 talking points from Arsenal’s victory at Goodison Park

While it may be fun to point at Arsene Wenger (as I’m guilty of), it is a team affair and all eleven players on that field are equally responsible.

Per is right. He’s placing the blame squarely on the shoulders of everyone that played the game. This is a team game and any goal given up is not a goal against any one individual player (or coach), but against the team.

Follow Pain in the Arsenal on Facebook, Google+ and Twitter.