Arsene Wenger concerned by Arsenal's performances so far this season

Arsene Wenger has admitted his team’s performances have left him worried

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger has been bewildered by his side’s form this season. The Frenchman had spent big this season and had built a team to compete for the Premier League title – but the start of the season has not been fulfilling for the Gunners because after just eight games, they trail current leaders Chelsea by 11 points.

More than the fact that they have not been able to convert draws into victories, Wenger has been disappointed by the fact that they have not been able to dominate matches the way they used to, and hence are giving the opposition many chances to come back.

Wenger explains his worries

After Saturday’s 2-2 home draw against Hull City, Arsene Wenger said, “It’s difficult to say why because there’s not just one reason. It’s a post-World Cup year. It’s as well because we had to play Besiktas to qualify for the Champions League without having everybody ready. We have missed many players.

What is most frustrating is that we never come out of games feeling that we have been dominated. We always feel there was room to win the game and that was not always the case last season but our defensive efficiency is not there at the moment.”

Arsenal have been defensively weak

Arsenal’s new additions in attack have lived up to to the expectations, with Danny Welbeck having already scored five goals in five games and Alexis Sanchez six in nine games. But their defence has been the main problem this season as they have conceded a lot of goals due to poor defensive lapses. On this the Arsenal boss remarked:

“You cannot survive at the top level by conceding always two goals. It’s impossible. It’s an urgency not to give easy goals away like we did. We have to focus on the next game, football is made of pragmatism and realism and let’s focus on Anderlecht and go on and win the game. It’s a shame we didn’t win against Hull but it’s a shame because there is a good spirit in the side and a lot of quality in there and I think the way we concede goals at the moment is too easy.”

The 64-year-old’s problems will increase ahead of the Champions League game against Anderlecht away in Belgium, as their first team goal keeper Wojciech Szczesny and the second keeper David Ospina are injured, making rookie keeper Emiliano Martinez an automatic choice for the game.