Here are five reasons why Arsene Wenger's side have made such a disappointing start to their Premier League campaign
London: Arsenal's 2-1 defeat by Manchester United at the weekend left them 15 points below Premier League leaders Chelsea after their worst start to a season for 32 years.
Here, we highlight five reasons why Arsene Wenger's side have made such a disappointing start to the campaign:
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1. Injury blight
Oliver Giroud (left) and Mesut Ozil. File Pic/AFP
Despite acquiring the services of renowned fitness coach Shad Forsythe prior to the start of the season, Arsenal's players continue to display an unusual susceptibility to injury. Olivier Giroud and Aaron Ramsey have spent significant periods of time on the sidelines this season, Mathieu Debuchy, Laurent Koscielny and Mesut Ozil remain unavailable, and Theo Walcott is still being eased back into action after sustaining knee ligament damage in January. Things got worse against United, with Jack Wilshere and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny both obliged to hobble off.
2. Incoherent transfer policy
Defender Thomas Vermaelen moved to Barcelona. File Pic/AFP
The pre-season signings of Alexis Sanchez and Danny Welbeck left Wenger with an enviable collection of forwards and attacking midfielders to choose from, but Arsenal's rearguard appears understaffed. Wenger's failure to replace Thomas Vermaelen, who was sold to Barcelona, has left Arsenal short in central defence, with left-back Nacho Monreal obliged to fill in alongside Per Mertesacker in the absence of Koscielny. Arsenal also lack an authoritative holding midfielder, obliging Mikel Arteta to occupy a role to which he is not ideally suited.
3. Defensive shakiness
Arsenal's Polish-born German striker Lukas Podolski (R) looks at the ball after Anderlecht scored their third goal to equalise during the UEFA Champions League Group D football match between Arsenal and Anderlecht at the Emirates Stadium in north London in November. Pic/AFP
Wenger observed after the loss to United that his side "lack a bit of maturity defensively", and it has become a recurring problem. Arsenal have kept only three clean sheets in the league this season -- against Aston Villa, Sunderland and Burnley -- and have lost nine points from winning positions. They let a 3-0 lead slip in a 3-3 draw at home to Anderlecht in the Champions League earlier this month and also failed to defend their advantage in a 2-1 defeat at Swansea City, flooding forward after going ahead in the 63rd minute and getting caught on the counter-attack. Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown has described the team's gung-ho tactics as "criminal".
4. Big-game frailties
Man City's Martin Demichelis celebrates scoring against Arsenal in London on September 13th. Pic/AFP
Arsenal's poor record against the other leading teams in the English top flight is well documented. They lost heavily at Chelsea, Liverpool and eventual champions Manchester City last season -- shipping an extraordinary 17 goals in the process -- and have won only one of their last 15 meetings with United, losing 11. All four of the teams they have beaten in the league this season currently reside in the Premier League's bottom seven.
5. Ramsey off the boil
Aaron Ramsey in action during Arsenal's EPL clash against Manchester City at Emirates Stadium in September. Pic/Getty Images
It would be unfair to attribute too much importance to Aaron Ramsey's loss of form, but Arsenal have unquestionably missed the Welsh midfielder's goals. Ramsey started the 2013-14 campaign like an express train and finished the season with a career-high total of 16 goals, but he has found the net only three times this term and is not wielding as much influence as he did 12 months ago.
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