Arsenal played with a 3-5-2 formation vs Southampton in the Premier League this weekend but clearly three men at the back aren’t solving any problems for Unai Emery.
After a dismal first-half performance, Emery chose to change to a 4-4-2 formation during the second half hoping things will improve but sadly that was not to be.
Southampton scored two goals on the night but frankly, they should have scored a couple more and should have headed back home with all three points instead of just a draw.
While the likes of Aubameyang and Lacazette have been doing their job with full honesty this season, it’s the defensive line which has repeatedly led Arsenal down.
The likes of David Luiz, Sokratis and Tierney had been found wanting many times on Saturday and according to Alan Shearer, the defence is something that needs immediate sorting out.
“Where do we start? They were sloppy, so bad defensively. [Kieran] Tierney set the tone after a couple of minutes, caught on the ball, poor touches,” he said[as reported by The Express].
“[Lucas] Torreira then got caught on the ball, Arsenal got away with it. Six players and the manager are moaning to the referee when Southampton score, they were too clever for them.
“David Luiz… by the time the ball is in the net he’s not even in the box, it’s too late, he’s switching off.
“These mistakes are happening every single week trying to play out of the back but they’re not good enough to play out from the back, they keep giving chances away.
“I might get criticised for talking about fouling but what does Kante, Fabinho and Fernandinho do? They foul and they stop attacks.
“It’s a lack of experience from [Matteo Guendouzi] because look at the space Southampton have got to run into.
“I see the same thing with Arsenal, they’re terrible defensively every single week, and they’re getting worse. I don’t see Emery getting out of it because as I said, they’re getting worse.”
Arsenal lost former captain Laurent Koscielny during the summer transfer window and the manager has not been able to fill this void which is probably the biggest reason why the defensive line is looking so shaky even against the minnows.
