Arsenal should fear exodus
Top Gunners will also be tempted to leave after horror show
Alexis Sanchez may be just the beginning. Others will follow through the Arsenal exit.
If the Gunners continue to be so abject, guileless and rudderless, then an exodus beckons at the end of the season.
| BOURNEMOUTH | ARSENAL |
| 2 | 1 |
Bournemouth pulled off a stunning 2-1 victory last night, a win that defied every plausible prediction and fun fact.
The Cherries hadn't beaten a top-six side in their previous nine EPL attempts. There was little evidence to suggest they'd pick off the Gunners.
But Arsene Wenger's muddled men are tumbling towards oblivion. The risk of Arsenal's season imploding is real and worrying.
Sanchez's punishment for pondering between the two Manchester clubs was to be dropped from the squad, but his only crime is to seek an escape from a club and coach going backwards.
Mesut Oezil was injured, but he must surely be plotting an escape route. If Jack Wilshere has any sense, he'll be doing the same.
Even Wenger's dwindling band of devotees must acknowledge that there's now the possibility of losing Sanchez, Oezil and Wilshere.
Arsenal's most naturally gifted creators are worth more than this. So are the Gunners' exasperated supporters. Their side's dispiriting line-up reinforced the sense of stagnation.
Injuries ruled out Oezil and Olivier Giroud, which ensured Alexandre Lacazette led the line. He hadn't scored in his previous eight games. He still hasn't scored after nine, a peripheral figure throughout.
He's not the answer to his club's striking problems.
Theo Walcott was left on the bench, as he also ponders a move elsewhere.
Arsenal's exasperating lack of ambition in the boardroom was frequently matched on the pitch. The Cherries had won just once in their last 12 matches in all competitions, but rarely looked overwhelmed.
High in the stands, Wenger wore a tailor-made Arsenal coat that included a toggle because he'd struggled to undo the zip in the past, a comically apt metaphor for his management of late.
Never mind Champions League qualification, the Gunners barely resembled a top-six side. As the game progressed, Wilshere dropped deeper and deeper to collect possession.
The resurgent Englishman is just six months away from a World Cup and the end of his contract. Arsenal fans must be concerned.
Wilshere was a rare highlight, always demanding the ball, dropping a shoulder and spinning away, pushing forward in a futile bid to spark the damp Gunners.
On current form, Wenger's placid performers deserve neither Wilshere nor elite European competition next season.
Alex Iwobi and Danny Welbeck are honest triers, but were honestly trying against Bournemouth. The pair, rather like Lacazette, are not the artistic conductors to orchestrate Arsenal's renaissance.
Bournemouth had handled the visitors' powder-puff attack until a lapse in concentration and a delightful slide-rule pass from Iwobi broke the deadlock, with Hector Bellerin on the receiving end to give Arsenal the lead.
The lead was scarcely deserved and didn't last long.
Flying down the right wing, Ryan Fraser whipped the cross of the game towards the penalty spot in the 70th minute.
Petr Cech came out. Callum Wilson gave chase and the Bournemouth striker got there first, nudging the ball past the exposed goalkeeper.
Cech's timing was off, but at least he was visible. His three centre backs had vanished.
They hadn't returned four minutes later when the hosts went ahead. Unmarked and in space, Jordon Ibe collected a layoff and smashed a shot past a stunned Cech.
Arsenal's defence was culpable, their midfielders invisible and their forward line irrelevant. Apart from Wilshere, the team offered little resistance against a side tipped for relegation.
Sanchez's impending departure is no longer the issue. It's those queuing up behind him that should terrify the Gunners.
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