Arsenal: Bournemouth loss casts unfair depiction on post-Alexis era

Arsenal’s first match post-Alexis Sanchez was abysmal, but that doesn’t mean this is how it will always be. Not even close. Things are looking up.

Alexis Sanchez was left at home as Arsenal took on Bournemouth, and despite Arsene Wenger‘s attempts at blowing smoke, we all know what that means. He’s gone. Which is intimidating, to some point. But Robbie Earle said something interesting before the match that sounded like something we could all get behind.

He said that this was a similar situation at West Ham, when Dimitri Payet left. The Hammers essentially said, alright, here we are, now let’s get better because of it. Let’s band together, all of us that want to be here, and make the most of it.

He said that’s what the Gunners need to do in the wake of the Alexis departure. This was their first chance. The result? Complete inadequacy. But more importantly, a complete lack of direction. Because this club in general has no direction.

But when you look at who was on the pitch, it shouldn’t be any surprise. Wenger said he wanted to player guys who had complete focus. That said, focus or determination doesn’t translate to a direction. Alexis Sanchez was a source of power for this club, no doubt, and being without him should feasibly have given some inspiration to the other people.

However, all that said, don’t kid yourself into thinking that this is how Arsenal will look from here on out, even if we don’t sign anyone in return (we will).

More from Pain in the Arsenal

There are other resources in this club that can uplift them, in the spirit of West Ham post-Payet. But the key isn’t starting a “focused” player, the key is starting a hungry player who wants to be here.

There are some of them on the team. Jack Wilshere, for instance. Aaron Ramsey. Shkodran Mustafi. Sead Kolasinac. Ainsley Maitland-Niles. And there are more. These are the guys that can power the team. But they have to be put in a position to do so.

Give Wilshere the armband. It’s his dream. It will inspire him even more than he already is. Let Aaron Ramsey take back the center of midfield.

Give Alexandre Lacazette someone who can actually feed him, which means no Alex Iwobi and no Danny Welbeck, and he will be a source of power as well.

Next: Arsenal vs Bournemouth Player Ratings

That loss sucked. It was one of the lowest lows Arsenal have ever hit. This was not supposed to happen. The list of things that were handled poorly is too long to recite here. But keep faith. Keep your eyes on the news feed over the next few days. There will be answers. There already are answers, if you allow them to be.

Home/Arsenal News