Arsenal players to hold crisis talks after Man City defeat
By Tom Gott
The Arsenal squad are preparing to hold crisis talks after their abysmal start to the season continued with a 5-0 mauling at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday.
The Gunners, who fell 2-0 to both Brentford and Chelsea in their first two fixtures, were two goals down inside 12 minutes against City, who ran riot after Granit Xhaka was shown yet another red card for a unnecessarily reckless challenge shortly before the break.
The result leaves Arsenal bottom of the table, having conceded nine goals while still waiting for their first, and sealed the team's worst start to a season in 67 years.
After the game, club captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang confessed that the squad need to sit down and take a long, hard look at what has gone so wrong for them this year.
“We have to talk between us players, I think this is important because we are Arsenal,” Aubameyang said (via The Telegraph). “We need pride and we need to say the truth, be honest and raise the level.”
Manager Mikel Arteta was asked about the striker's comments after the game, admitting: “If that is what he is saying, then he is right. He is on the pitch and he is talking of the players on the pitch. They know more than anyone what is needed.”
Despite the gravity of the situation - Arteta is believed to have just four more games before facing real pressure from the board - the boss insisted he is the right man to turn Arsenal's fortunes around.
"I always said I will be the one, I am more critical of myself, taking the blame all the time,” he continued. “When we have defeats, I question myself. I have to have the right people around me and try to improve it and change it [and] if we have to do something different [we will] of course.
“Three games and losing all of them doesn’t make it any easier. It is time to reflect and look in the mirror, each of us, and try to change the dynamic straight away because we need to pick up results.”