Arsenal Vs Cardiff City: 5 things we learned – The Lacazette lesson

Arsenal travelled to Cardiff City on Sunday afternoon looking for their second win of the season. Here are five things we learned from the 3-2 victory.

It wasn’t easy — it never is, is it? But, eventually, Arsenal squeezed their way past Cardiff City on Sunday afternoon thanks to goals from Shkodran Mustafi, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette, of which the latter two were brilliant finishes. It is a big win for Unai Emery’s team, who now enter the international break with two wins and two losses.

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Here are five things we learned from the 3-2 victory.

5. Defending crosses

Under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal consistently struggled to deal with crosses from wide positions. The centre-backs, whoever it was, were poor markers, allowing opposing attackers to much space in the penalty area, there was a lack of pressure on the ball, allowing for accurate, dangerous deliveries, and if ever the ball fell loose, rarely was it an Arsenal defender who was first to it.

All of those vulnerabilities were again exploited here, even with Wenger no longer at the helm. Cardiff bombarded the penalty area with crosses, causing their visitors real difficulty, creating a hatful of very good opportunities. The first goal came directly from a cross — Bellerin didn’t pressure the ball; Monreal was beaten in the air and then couldn’t block the subsequent shot — and the second was from a set-piece.

This is not an individual shortcoming of one or two players. Each and every member of the team is responsible. The full backs were exposed by a lack of protection from the midfield, no one pressed the ball and hindered the delivery, the centre-backs were poor in their marshalling of the centre-forwards. It is a team issue and is one that will continue to hinder this team.