Arsenal were “terrible” and “just not good enough”, manager Arsene Wenger said after the Gunners suffered more misery on the road against Blackburn Rovers.
Wenger’s men were in control at half-time, leading 2-1 with chances aplenty, before they crumbled to a 4-3 defeat including own-goals from Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny.
For Arsenal fans, the result brought back bitter memories of their recent 8-2 mauling at Manchester United.
The Gunners now have just four points from five games in the league this season, their worst start since Wenger came to the club in 1996.
They have also conceded 14 goals, more than any other side in the top flight.
“It is terrible, it is just not good enough,” Wenger said of the Gunners’ precarious state.
“Of course we are very frustrated. The spirit in the team is quite willing, but if you look at the number of goals we have conceded that is not good enough. You cannot come here and concede four goals the way we did today. On the other hand, I believe that the group will take off. But it’s important that we get quick results.”
The defeat is likely to spark further questions about Wenger’s future at the club, but he refused to get drawn into such discussions.
“Speculation is part of modern life,” he said.
“What can I do about that?”
“My future is focusing on what I do well, and that means giving my best for the club. I have no influence on the speculation.”
Arsenal impressed in the first half, with Gervinho and Mikel Arteta scoring their first goals for the club either side of a neat Yakubu finish.
But the second half was a different story.
Yakubu struck from close range after the own-goals, for his second goal, andBlackburnled 4-2 despite having had only two shots on goal. Wenger accepted that his defence’s frailty was a big worry.
“You cannot say you have no worry when you see the performance we have put in today,” he said.
“It’s just not defensively solid enough when you are 2-1 in front againstBlackburn, and you know if you are solid enough defensively you will score goals. It’s not all negative today. That’s, in fact, the frustrating thing as well. At the moment, we do not have the capability to focus defensively to win games like that. It is important you do not give cheap goals away like that. Overall we created many chances, even in the second half, but we had a lack of focus on what we knew they were strong at: corners, free-kicks.
“Overall we lost a game where we scored six goals and that’s quite disappointing.”
Buford Balony says: Nothing.
