Well, it didn't take long for the Gunners' defensive issues to resurface. Just 11 games into the new season and Arsene Wenger is already furiously scratching his temple after another rearguard collapse cost them a win at home to the Cottagers last week. Whatever assistant manager Steve Bould did to beef up the back four's solidity at the start of the campaign has waned. Now Wenger is considering a dramatic change in formation and adopting a 5-3-2 in an attempt to stop the North London club leaking goals. But is the plummeting form of several key players to blame? They are likely to have taken a lot of confidence from this afternoon's 5-2 victory against their bitter North London rivals, although their defensive backline looked anything but solid at times.
This week on FFC should the Gunners give Theo Walcott the contract he desires and which Rams prodigy is Arsene Wenger taking an interest in?
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Best of FFC
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Best of WEB
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A Matter Of Form Rather Than Formation - A Cultured Left Foot
Wenger HAS officially lost it!!! - Gunnersphere
We want people with 'Arsenal in their blood' - Online Gooner
Why Wenger has to walk if Arsenal fail to achieve a top four finish - Gunnersphere
Jack’s in his corset, Jane is in her vest - Arseblog
Has Arsene Wenger taken this Arsenal project as far as he can? - Le Grove
Do we really need Mr Usmanov? Huge Boost in the Arsenal camp…. - Highbury House
Would Arsene Really Spend £20M On A 30yr Old? - Transfer Tavern
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Quote of the Week
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"He didn't want to make a trial because he was 16 years old at the time. He went home and we concluded to watch him again. I wanted to see him in training but it didn't stop him from making a great career. In the end, he chose to go to Ajax Amsterdam. That happens. He's not the only one in that case. The confidence he shows... if a performance isn't there you can say you don't agree with it, but when a performance is there, you think his confidence is justified. Through his career, he has justified why he believes in his own talent." Arsene Wenger reveals he tried to sign Zlatan Ibrahimovic when the Sweden striker was in his teens
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