Premier League 2018/19: Cardiff City vs Arsenal: Two basic things we noticed

Cardiff City v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Cardiff City v Arsenal FC - Premier League

Alexandre Lacazette's 81st minute winner saw the Gunners beat a hard-fighting Cardiff City side 3-2 to hand Unai Emery his first away win of the season and Arsenal's second away win of 2018.

From the home side point of view, they can raise their shoulders high, as they worked their socks off to cause an upset. But the superiority of both sides' attacking power edged the game for Arsenal from the away side point of view. They must be particularly disappointed by the way they allowed Cardiff into the game after taking the lead on two occasions. Here are two things that we learnt from the game.

#1 Arsenal's calamitous defending still a major concern

Cardiff City v Arsenal FC - Premier League
Cardiff City v Arsenal FC - Premier League

After four round of matches in the season, Arsenal have shipped in as many goals as they have scored. They have scored 8 goals and conceded 8 as well, which is a major concern for a team that are fighting to get into the top four in England's top flight. Definitely, the team has lot of work to do, especially off-the-ball. They still have not bedded into Unai Emery's high pressing tactics and this is also seen in Petr Cech's floundering in goal with his wayward passes.

The major concern now is whether Emery will be able to sort out this defensive issues, otherwise it might become impossible for the gunners to compete for Champions places. Mustafi and Sokratis are still a long way from keeping Premier League attackers at bay on a consistent basis. Poor judgment and some school boy defending by both central defenders is a sore sight to see.

Hector Bellerin has still not shown is a reliable defender the Gunners can rely on. Something in that team needs to change and it has to be done quickly.

The international break should offer Unai Emery ample time to work with the players who are not going away on national team duties and improve the naive defending by the Gunners.

#2 Lucas Torreira needs to start games

Chelsea v Arsenal - Premier League
Lucas Torreira tackles Ross Barkley during a premier league game in August

Enough of all the fitness issues and concerns, Lucas Torreira has once again shown that he deserves a starting berth in the team. He has shown that he is a fighter and can add more bite to the less-aggressive defensive midfield position of the team as well as provide impetus to attack the opposition as seen from his match-winning assist against Cardiff City.

Matteo Guendouzi is a very talented player, however, Torreira offers more in terms of defending. Emery should not be afraid to start the Uruguayan. Uruguay coach Oscar Tabarez might have had similar fears by leaving out the Uruguayan for the first two games of the world cup on the bench. In the game against Portugal, he stuck to Cristiano Ronaldo like glue and robbed him of possession a couple of times. Now is the time for the Uruguayan to start games for the Gunners.

However, it is not all doom and gloom for the Gunners as they have shown in matches against Chelsea, West Ham and Cardiff that if they fight, they will score goals even if they are behind in games. Most Arsenal fans will agree that the "animated' Unai Emery has breathed life into the players for them to wake up to their responsibilities especially when they are down. Hopefully, they can continue their winning streak after the international break.

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Edited by Ben Roberts