Pain in the Arsenal
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Arsenal Vs CSKA Moscow: 5 things we learned – Fabulous but flawed

By Andrew Dowdeswell

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal is congratulated on scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Europa League quarter final leg one match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 05: Aaron Ramsey of Arsenal is congratulated on scoring the opening goal during the UEFA Europa League quarter final leg one match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 05: Alan Dzagoev of CSKA Moskva heads in a disallowed goal as Laurent Koscielny and Petr Cech of Arsenal look on during the UEFA Europa League quarter final first leg match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images,)
LONDON, ENGLAND – APRIL 05: Alan Dzagoev of CSKA Moskva heads in a disallowed goal as Laurent Koscielny and Petr Cech of Arsenal look on during the UEFA Europa League quarter final first leg match between Arsenal FC and CSKA Moskva at Emirates Stadium on April 5, 2018 in London, United Kingdom. (Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images,) /

3. Defensive lapses will not go unpunished

I will be extolling the performance of Arsenal for the large majority of this piece. And they do deserve it. But this was not a game without its faults. And, predictably for the Gunners, almost all came in the defensive areas of the pitch.

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There was the goal. Direct errors from Shkodran Mustafi, Granit Xhaka and Laurent Koscielny. There was Ahmed Musa’s wrongly-awarded offside. Direct errors from Mustafi, Koscielny and Hector Bellerin. There was Alan Dzagoev’s offside goal. Direct errors from Mustafi and Koscielny again.

More than just those moments, however, the general nervousness of the Arsenal play was extremely concerning. Neither Mustafi nor Koscielny looked especially convincing throughout, with the former showing some shocking positional awareness and discipline at times.

Musa caused all sorts of problems with his direct running off the ball and searing pace when spinning into the channels, while Pontus Wernbloom’s size and stature was difficult to handle, winning several headers and turning both Mustafi and Koscielny at times. CSKA were unfortunate to score only one. It could have been a whole lot more. A better team would have. These defensive lapses will not continue to go unpunished.