Young Gunners provide easy target

While Arsenal fans may be enjoying the misery endured by their north London neighbours Tottenham at the moment, the elation is probably not enough to mask concerns about their own team’s performances this term.

The Gunners were given an almost dream start in terms of the fixture list and if they had any realistic ambitions of challenging for the league title this season they needed to be right up among the pace setters early on.

But Arsene Wenger’s side have been pegged back in recent weeks after dropping three points against Hull at home and then this weekend another two – depending on how you look at it, of course – against Sunderland at the Stadium of Light.

This current Arsenal side is of course packed with youngsters and they are not all going to perform week in, week out but this are the sort of games they simply must be picking up maximum points in if they wish to be in the title reckoning come May.

Arsenal play fantastic football on their day but they can find it difficult when sides defend deep with men behind the ball as it becomes difficult for the Gunners to penetrate with their passing game.

Wenger complained about Sunderland’s negative tactics yesterday but he has to accept that this is a reality of modern football where the stakes are so high and teams playing the likes of Arsenal cannot risk playing open expansive football.

The French manager may have his footballing ideals but he has rich resources and he should not simply demand that coaches with more mediocre players at their disposal adopt his philosophy.

They too are simply trying to get the best out of what they have.

The fact is Arsenal’s youngsters of a couple of seasons ago are now growing up – Cesc Fabregas, for example, now has over 140 league appearances under his belt - and they should have got over the tendency to become an easy target for a Premiership upset if they are to realise ambitions of challenging Manchester United and Chelsea.

The last time Arsenal won the league, the famous ‘Invincibles’ season of 2003-4, they played the same brand of altruistic football but they had a hardened core of winners with the likes of Patrick Vieira, Sol Campbell and Dennis Bergkamp as well as the irresistible Thierry Henry in his prime.

Henry’s departure may not have been felt too harshly as other attacking options have flourished in his absence, but it seems Arsenal have never totally recovered from losing the steel provided by Vieira.

We all know Arsenal are capable of matching the best of them but lesser teams will often try and bring the Gunners down to their level and what Arsenal really need is the type of player who can scrap with the best of them.

Wenger is obsess with beautiful football but he has admitted he has resources available and, if he does not want his side to be left behind by their rivals, January may be time to invest in someone to carry out the ugly side of the game.