They do not have the quality in DM and up front to win as many of their games as you'd think they could with what appears to be a quality side at first glance. They are not good enough in DM and CF and get found out against the better sides more often than not.How do you explain their appalling record against other top four sides in recent years?
Every team has some inherent weakness. We posses some that Arsenal do not share. It doesn't prevent us from being regular title challengers. They contain enough overall quality to at least sustain a title challenge imo. That they perennially fail to is down to a lack of mental strength, rather than an absence of general ability.They do not have the quality in DM and up front to win as many of their games as you'd think they could with what appears to be a quality side at first glance. They are not good enough in DM and CF and get found out against the better sides more often than not.
You can put any name you wish to a side that when its behind gets nothing from a game and lacks the ability to dig out a result.
When we have been behind at half time in our past 12 games our record is 0-1-11.
This season we have blown leads against very average sides in Juventus and Spurs.
I do agree the massive injury list ( what resources are we putting into player management FFS ) has unbalanced us and Saturday was one big cock up starting from the management team down after we took the lead but overall our management team and the playing group lack steel and this combined with the injuries will derail this season unless we get smarter on match days and lift our intensity over 90 minutes.
*awaiting the mentally weak pontificating about the mentally weak*
When vinny is not there and we are behind u look around the team for someone to pick the players up of the floor! That player doesn't seem to be there or he's just not showing? Hopefully with zabba coming back he will be the player to get the others going when the chips are down!
Precisely, the really strong characters and leaders in the squad are Zaba, Kompany,Silva, Yaya and Aguero. They're the players who got us to our first trophies in this era and nobody would question their mental toughness. At the start of the 2nd half on Saturday we had just a half-fit Yaya who was soon to go off and an out of sorts Aguero who can't sort his own game out let alone anyone elses. But that's when the rest of the squad have to step up and I felt they failed dismally, and yes I do think that was down to a collective lack of resolve and leadership and I would call that mental weakness.
I strongly disagree with you on Silva, he may not be vocal but he is definitely a leader, he pulls the strings in that team.Aguero, Yaya, Silva aren't leaders. They'll go out and do something fantastic which will lift the team, but not like Hart or Zaba or Kompany who will shout and yell and pump them up, and get them going with a loud word and demand the best from the team.
They're doers, not leaders.
I think Otamendi will be a leader in time, but he's the new guy for now.