Tony Evans: Arsenal need inner steel if they are going to win the Premier League title

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Tony Evans15 February 2016

The title will not be won on the pitch. It will be won in the mind. That makes you worry for Arsenal.

The 2-1 victory over Leicester City yesterday was thrilling and uplifting. The wild celebrations that followed Danny Welbeck’s last-gasp winner shook the Emirates. It felt like a final. It wasn’t, despite the dressing-room ‘selfies’.

Arsenal’s inability to impose themselves on an unusually open Premier League has little to do with ability. Skill is something Arsene Wenger does not need to worry about. His squad has an abundance of talent. The weaknesses are largely psychological.

Wenger knows this implicitly. After the game yesterday, he talked of “mental desire” and “mental hurdles” as if the opponents were not Leicester but internal demons. His team have a nasty habit of self-harming.

When challenged — and Claudio Ranieri’s side have the sort of snidey, niggly approach that upsets Arsenal — the Gunners lose focus. They began the game with an imperious, stylish swagger that should have put them a brace up within two minutes but started to lose their focus as Leicester clawed themselves, somewhat literally, back into the game. When things go against them, Arsenal’s sense of injustice overrides their sense of purpose.

They were given a massive advantage yesterday when Martin Atkinson made the rather eccentric decision to send off Danny Simpson for a second yellow card. Yet the advantage was nearly squandered in a moment of petulance a few minutes later when Ranieri reorganised his team with a substitution. Riyad Mahrez was meandering off to be replaced by Marcin Wasilewski when Francis Coquelin decided to manhandle the Leicester player off the field. Coquelin was on a yellow card himself and a braver referee would have handed him a second card for getting involved. It was a stupid lapse of discipline.

Against 10 men, a side like Arsenal should be in their element. They have the passing range to stretch and exhaust the opposition.

Alexis Sanchez and Mesut Ozil have the guile and craft to outmanoeuvre defences but under pressure they become rushed and shed their subtlety. They should be two of the most unpredictable players in the League but too often their next move is obvious.

Arsenal vs Leicester: Player Ratings

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Theo Walcott’s goal was reassuring. He showed a composure in the area that his team-mates should envy. If Arsenal’s finishing was anywhere near par they would be clear at the top of the division.

Perhaps the most frustrating flaw in Wenger’s team is their repeated tactical blunders. Both full-backs push forward together and leave the centre-backs isolated. If the midfield neglect to pay attention — and no side can be as committed to overcommitting as Arsenal — the two remaining defenders get caught in two v three and two v four situations. Even yesterday, playing against 10 men, the Gunners let Jamie Vardy into a one-on-one situation with Calum Chambers on a run from the halfway line.

There is a dissonance about Arsenal that can be pleasing and exciting but is too chaotic to place real confidence in their title challenge. The great, early Wenger teams played with a relentless rhythm that opponents found almost impossible to disrupt for prolonged periods. Today’s side lack authority, especially in midfield.

The contrast between N’Golo Kante’s controlled, disruptive aggression and Arsenal’s haphazard approach was stark yesterday. The Frenchman thought Kante not good enough for the Emirates. Perhaps the Arsenal manager was looking for the wrong qualities in the player. The Leicester midfielder’s robust approach would improve Wenger’s team significantly.

The League leaders now have nearly two weeks off to rest and recuperate and contemplate bouncing back from defeat at the Emirates.

Arsenal have two cup ties, one against Barcelona. It will not be tired legs that lose the title, though, it will be a weak mental approach.

It’s time for Arsenal to show their mental toughness. No one doubts their class but in the end it’ll be their minds that matter.

Got a question for Tony? Leave yours in the comment box below ahead his weekly Q&A, Thursday at 12pm!

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