3 Questions Needing Answers

As we enter February, having just waded into the second half of the season, our goals and ambitions have changed quite a bit from what we had envisioned only 6 months ago. As the season began, it seemed we would honestly be a force to be reckoned with.

At the time I wondered, was this side like the 2007-08 side who, when Thierry Henry departed, began to be closer together than ever before, started producing week-in and week-out, and mounted a serious challenge for the Premier League title? In fact, had the Eduardo incident and F.A. Cup defeat not happened so close to one another to break confidence and momentum, we may well have won honours that season.

Now here we were, 5 years later, and it looked as though history could repeat itself. Our captain and talisman had again departed, a few new signings were brought in, and in the early weeks of the season it looked as though once again we could regroup and challenge for the title.

And then it all fell apart.

Week after week it became evident that we are not at that same level. Our defence is shoddy, attack less-potent than it should be, and the spirit and determination needed to consistently perform is not there. So if we are to turn around our season and achieve our new goals, that of finishing in the top 4 in the league and possibly making a strong push for the F.A. Cup and Champions League, some questions must be answered.

1. Will our defence hold up? Needless to say it hasn't been excellent. Overall our defensive shape has been much improved this season, and Steve Bould deserves some credit for that. Something seen this season that was never really done before is that we now defend in two banks of four, which rotate and shift depending on the side of the pitch the ball is on. This shape is much harder for opposition attackers to break through than the sort of haphazard man-for-man defending that was the norm before.

Why then the continual leaked goals? Other than individual errors, which we are committing statistically more of than any other Premiership team this season, there are two tactical reasons for this.

First of all, our defensive shape doesn't always hold. When the opposition counterattacks we don't build our defensive walls of players fast enough. We have wingers such as Walcott and Podolski, who are by nature strikers. They are excellent in attack, but do not track back and defend as a traditional winger might do. This, and the fact that our defenders themselves are often pulled out of position joining in the attack, means that unless the opposing team are building their attack slowly, we're about as solid as melted butter.

Second, the times we've been most effective at defending and winning the ball back have been when we're pressing high up the pitch, allowing opposing players very little space, making them far more likely to commit individual errors. When we get lazy or tired and don't press as high or with as much intensity as normal, the opposition's players find far more space in which to work. With that space, coupled with the fact that failed high pressing means our defensive shape isn't there, they are far more likely to score, and have done far more frequently than we would like.

Strengthening our defence is certainly necessary, but the only way this was addressed during the January transfer window was to bring in a left back. Which leads to...

2. Was the signing of Nacho Monreal actually good for the team? And will it help? The man's a decent player, and while his first appearance for us at the weekend was a bit of a nervy, unpolished one, there were signs of good things to come. His crossing was good, he liked to join in the attack, and his defending wasn't bad. He was a solid signing and should have no problems continuing to slot in and adapt quickly.

But what about Gibbs? Sure, our young English left back has been injured and out of action for a few spells this season, including now (which is why Monreal's signing was expedited), but when he has played, he's been one of our outstanding players. Perhaps the best-performing defender we've had this season. Now he has genuine competition, and I can't help but feel as though the Monreal signing could seriously stunt his growth and development as a top player. I hope I'm wrong.

3. Can we be more consistent? That's key, and one of our biggest problems this season. We can be breathtakingly good, and embarrassingly bad, sometimes within the same game (e.g. Liverpool at home.) We've been starting matches slowly and going behind often. But then we've also sometimes been brilliant.

In the last few season, the average points total needed to reach the top four in the league has been 71 points. In order to reach that total, we would need to earn 30 out of the 39 remaining available. That's only two losses more we can afford - if we don't draw any games. Clearly, there's not much room for error. Arsene Wenger has admitted as much, most recently after our 1-0 victory over Stoke:

"I said before the West Ham game and the Liverpool game that we are in a  position where we can't drop points. We dropped points against Liverpool but we couldn't do it again today."

Consistency will be key to obtaining the points we need. Can we overcome seemingly psychological inability to be consistent? I certainly hope so.

We can make it to the top four this season, and maybe even mount a serious challenge for the F.A. Cup or Champions League. But our problems must be addressed and those questions answered. In the coming weeks, we'll find out if they will be.

Fab 4