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Three underperforming Arsenal players this season

Arsenal are certainly having one of their worst seasons ever in the Premier League. The North London side are currently 10 points off the Champions League spots and lurking in the 11th place.

Three underperforming Arsenal players this season

Bengaluru, Dec. 9: Arsenal are certainly having one of their worst seasons ever in the Premier League. The North London side are currently 10 points off the Champions League spots and lurking in the 11th place.

After a dreadful run of games, manager Unai Emery was sacked two weeks back however things are yet to be changed under interim boss Ljungberg as well. The former Gunners legend has drawn and lost each in the last two games and there will be pressure on him to deliver against West Ham in the next game.

However, all the downturn are absolutely not correlated to the management side only. Despite having a notable transfer window before the start of the season, getting in much-needed reinforcements, some pivotal players have failed to repay the trust and here is the list of such three names.


Nicolas Pepe

Nicolas Pepe’s adaptation to English football has been slower than the expectation. New environment, new league and surely the winger deserves the complete support from the Arsenal fan base in his first year. But with his price-tag and so many expectations from the team and fans, he is yet to live up to the expectations..

With 22 Ligue 1 goals to his name last season, fans certainly assumed he would add another exciting edge to an Arsenal attack that already contained Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alexandre Lacazette. But he's struggled to settle into the team which so far has looked a blunt force in attack. He has just one pl goal to his name that too from spot-kick and surely he has to work harder to adapt quickly into the side.


David Luiz

Another Summer addition to the side, the former Chelsea defender was supposed to compact the defence but so far he has not been of any help to the team. The 32-year-old was brought on after Arsenal failed to get a deal for the likes of Umtiti, Dayotchanculle Upamecano etc. But surely he was seen as a temporary remedy to fix the fragile defence line. But with Arsenal having just one away clean sheet in the league this season, and that too when Luiz did not start, it pretty much sums up the struggles.


Sokratis Papastathopoulos

Two defenders in the list of three underperformers speak a lot about the Arsenal defence. The last season's Summer arrival from Dortmund was one of the best players for the team last term under Emery. However, this season he has probably been the worst of the lot from the backline maybe even worse than partner Luiz. Right from positioning to control with the ball, defensive judgements and Sokratis's blunders in every aspect of the game has frequently cost Arsenal goals. If Arsenal dip into the January market and sign a new central-defender he may eventually find it difficult to maintain his place.

Story first published: Monday, December 9, 2019, 18:19 [IST]
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