Arsenal: The Gunners need to buck up and get back in the game

Arsenal was outplayed, outclassed and outdone by Liverpool on Sunday. But that wasn’t the problem. The problem was the way that nobody looked up to the task, something that is extremely concerning given that the season has just started.

Arsenal was a shadow of the team they once were on Sunday. As they prepared to come back from that 1-0 defeat to Stoke City, the Gunners travelled to Anfield, and given the brilliant matches that have taken place between these two teams, many were expecting an incredible contest. Instead, what we got was a parody, something absolutely unbelievable after the promises made after last season’s uplifting close to the year.

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The home side was beyond brilliant; Arsenal was in shambles. They were humiliated and outdone by Liverpool’s attacking pace, power, and creativity from the very first minute. The Red’s fluid attacking movement was far too much for to handle, firing in four goals, which could have been more if not for Petr Cech.

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There was a lack of fight, lack of presence and lack of heart as Arsenal looked as good as training cones among the Liverpool men. Gary Neville ripped into them after the game, and justifiably so. A shambles would be kind.

Things need to change because these are not some second-rate players thrown together the day before and sent out to play a football game. Other than this season’s new signings and Granit Xhaka, every other player on the pitch had played together for at least two full seasons, some of them for more. So the question remains: Why did they look so disconnected on the pitch and why couldn’t they string more than a few passes together?

This is Arsenal after all, and if nothing else, we’re known as a passing team. Those brilliant moves which combine intricate passing with sublime vision are one of the many reasons why I fell in love with this club. But that wasn’t present on Sunday. Instead, it was just more sideways passing and players terrified of moving forwards with the ball. Mesut Ozil couldn’t find his man on more than one occasion, Aaron Ramsey was humiliated by Georginio Wijnaldum more than once and Alexandre Lacazette was, infuriatingly, benched.

However, the question remains why did they look so lost? Was it because of the lack of a natural leader in the camp, or the fact that the team is not happy with the way things are, or maybe because of the never-ending contract sagas of Alexis Sanchez, Mesut Ozil, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain?

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Whatever the problem may be, it needs to be solved. The team needs to get their season back on track, especially given what they face after the international break with a hosting of Bournemouth, kicking off their Europa League campaign and then a daunting trip to champions Chelsea, and do so quickly. Change is needed. Whether we will get it, though, is another question.