Arsenal Vs Leicester City: Lost the plot

Nine goals conceded, zero heart, zero fight, and just the same old excuses. The of Arsenal fan just never seems to go smoothly. Have the Gunners lost the plot?

A little over a week ago, all Arsenal fans were starting to dream of an impressive end to the season. The top four looked very much within the team’s grasp and they had just given an impressive away performance away in Napoli. Moreover, seven clean sheets in eight games in all competitions was a sign that the defensive vulnerabilities that have plagued this club were coming to an end.

Find the latest episode of the Pain in the Arsenal Podcast here — Pragmatism, clean sheets, and Unai Emery

Fast forward a week, though, and to say things have unravelled would be a complete understatement. These past seven days have been nothing short of a disaster. Losing three games in a row at any point of the season is unacceptable, but losing three games at the back-end of the season when points are precious and everything is on the line is simply inexcusable.

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The performances have been flat and timid, the effort has been non-existent and the players, despite their public protestations, just don’t look like they care. It is like Arsenal are a mid-table team with nothing left to play for and the players look like they want the season to be over.

Some may try to use the refereeing against Leicester City, the latest in this trio of deplorable defeats, as an excuse, and yes, the red card for Ainsley Maitland-Niles was harsh, but that should not be used an excuse in what was again a complete inept performance. Anyone who is going to use that as an excuse needs to be realistic. The cause is not the refereeing.

The poor away form has long been documented, but nothing has been done to rectify this. Every away game, Arsenal are just turning up and going through the motions. They don’t look to have a game plan.

Six weeks ago, the fans looked at the upcoming run of away fixtures against Everton Watford, Wolves and Leicester City and feared the worst. It is almost as if the players did exactly the same, turning up and expecting to get beat.

Unai Emery pleaded for patience earlier on in the week and said that he believed he can take Arsenal to where they need to be. Many more performances like this and the patience with Emery will wear thin, if it hasn’t already.

Present prospects look very bleak and it’s debatable as to whether the team can raise their heads and deliver a quality performance against Valencia on Thursday. With zero faith in what has once again become a shambles of a defence and a mentality that lacks one iota of resilience and determination, it is difficult to be positive about the remainder of the campaign, starting on Thursday.

There are two weeks left of the season. I suggest Arsenal start trying to salvage something from it. Because, at the moment, they have completely and utterly lost the plot.