One thing that has become the norm for Arsenal in recent times is that when they fall, they fall very hard and very fast.
Yesterday was just one more example added to the portfolio of times the players have bottled it mentally. In all honesty, you could come up with so many examples to match the length of war and peace.
Mental blocks happen far too often for a club, who are supposedly one of the biggest in Europe. After Aston Villa scored that second goal, it was curtains, and Dean Smith’s side could’ve ended the night with five or six had they played their cards right.
Should Arsenal sack Arteta?
Yes
No
After Ollie Watkins’ first goal of the night, Jack Grealish really should’ve scored a third almost immediately, however, had his effort cleared off the line by Dani Ceballos as Mikel Arteta’s men were all at sea.
The Villains weren’t to be denied a third though as Grealish flew down the right and played in the former Brentford man for his second of the game.
In that spell from the 70th to the 77th minute, the midlands outfit had four shots on goal, and in all honesty, it was a shock they only scored the two goals. Knees weak, arms were heavy, Arsenal’s leg turned to spaghetti as the English duo of Grealish and Barkley put on a clinic on how to carve a defence open (as Eminem so eloquently put it).
It’s not the first time this season the Reds have fallen apart in a short space of time. The same happened up at Anfield as the Gunners conceded two goals in seven minutes to turn a 1-0 lead into a 2-1 deficit versus Liverpool.
Bayern Munich twice over two legs in the Champions League, Manchester City in the League Cup final, Chelsea in the Europa League final, Atletico Madrid at home. And there are many, many more examples, however, we’re limited in how many words we can put in each article.
How can such elite level athletes have such poor mental strength? It’s beggars belief really and is an issue that really needs to be solved if the north London outfit wants to be challenging for major honours.
Arsenal fans, do you think the players are mentally weak in tough moments? Let us know your thoughts!
