Tony Cascarino has laid into Arsenal after the weekend loss to Bournemouth and believes their own way of playing is costing them.
The Gunners delivered a performance nowhere near the level required and it was clear that the nerves around The Emirates got to the team.
Once again, it was self-inflicted damage as the Gunners gave the ball away time and time again.
Now, former top-flight striker Tony Cascarino has claimed the passing in the defensive third is costing them.
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Tony Cascarino hits out at Arsenal’s passing
Plenty of pundits have called out Arsenal after this weekend and it was mainly David Raya and Martin Zubimendi who got the stick.
Now, Cascarino has almost doubled down on that feeling and claimed the Gunners’ entire tactics are baffling him.
“There’s one thing that is driving me mad about what Arsenal are doing and it’s a simple thing. We can talk about performances, who’ve been up and down, there’s a number of players not performing, Zubimendi is totally off his game at the moment. But this is driving me mad,” Cascarino said on TalkSPORT.
“It stems from the goalkeeper. Arsenal were very fortunate to get away with the casual passing from Raya. This is what got me more than anything. They’re willing to take risks in their own half, but they aren’t willing to take risks in the opposition box. They aren’t doing it enough.
“For whatever reason, all the dangerous passing is in defence into midfield. When they go to the final third, it’s all cut inside and side to side. Flip it! To me it’s so obvious.”
Arsenal’s chances are all down to mentality and not tactics
Cascarino makes a good point here in that Arsenal are dithering on the ball too much but ultimately, Mikel Arteta is not going to change his tactics all of a sudden after years of building towards it.
Right now, this Arsenal team needs to get it right between their ears.
This stage of the season is all about mentality and being strong in the head to overcome situations. Mikel Arteta can do all the coaching in the world but it’s the players who need to deliver.
Arsenal’s squad has done tremendously well to get to where they are right now. But it’s these crunch weeks when the pressure is on where champions are made.
Arteta has effectively done 99% of his work for the season. Now, it’s down to the players to deliver.
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