Arsenals recent collapse has ramped up the pressure on Arsen

[carrie201918]

Arsenals recent collapse has ramped up the pressure on Arsene Wenger, with disgruntled fan groups planning protests during their Saturday Night Football clash with Norwich. Ahead of his 750th Premier League game at the helm, we examine a turbulent period for the Frenchman... On the eve of Arsenals damaging 3-2 defeat to Manchester United in February, Arsene Wenger was asked whether he feared they were on the brink of another second half of the season collapse. The Gunners had just suffered a grimly familiar defeat to Barcelona in the first leg of the Champions League last 16, and the trip to Old Trafford presented another psychological hurdle.There is a perception that Arsenal fade in March and April, responded Wenger. Its true we have lost the championship once or twice, but what is different now is that on those occasions we were losing momentum. This time, its the opposite. We are chasing and gaining momentum. Wenger had hoped Danny Welbecks late winner against Leicester two weeks previously would give Arsenal a platform to build on, but instead they slumped to what Graeme Souness described as a weak, insipid and unacceptable defeat against an injury-ravaged United side who had failed to win 10 of their previous 13 league games. Arsenal suffered a 3-2 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford Arsenals wretched run of four wins from 11 games since then has included a sixth consecutive Champions League last-16 exit and an FA Cup knockout by Watford, and the team who led the Premier League table by two points at the start of January were mathematically ruled out of the title race after Sundays goalless draw with Sunderland. So much for the momentum. Arsenals Premier League collapse Premier League 2015/16 P W D L GF GA Win % Pts Before January 2 20 13 3 4 34 18 65.0% 42 After January 2 15 5 7 3 24 16 33.3% 22 Even by Arsenals recent standards, the implosion has been spectacular, and as old weaknesses have resurfaced, many supporters are pointing the finger at the familiar figure in the dugout. Saturdays protests will be aimed at the clubs hierarchy as well as the manager, but some of Wengers recent decision-making has done little to help his cause. Last months 3-3 draw with West Ham was a case in point. Wenger caused widespread bafflement when he selected second-choice goalkeeper David Ospina over the fit-again Petr Cech for the must-win encounter, and the decision to leave the 6ft 6in Per Mertesacker on the bench looked equally questionable as Arsenal were aerially dominated by Andy Carroll.Wenger defended Ospina and expunged the Colombian of blame after the game, only to reinstate Cech for the visit of Crystal Palace the following week. Cech duly conceded a soft goal from Yannick Bolasie as Arsenal surrendered another lead, but that strike highlighted another area of uncertainty. Yannick Bolasie celebrates after equalising for Crystal Palace against Arsenal Indeed, Bolasies strike wouldnt even have arisen had Gabriel Paulista not given Emmanuel Adebayor so much time and space to hold the ball up on Arsenals left flank before setting up the chance, and the Brazilian made little effort to block Bolasies shot after moving back across into the centre of defence. Arsenal must address defence Arsene Wenger needs a defensive overhaul this summer, says Charlie Nicholas. Gabriel had kept his place in the side that day despite turning his back on Carrolls acrobatic leveller at Upton Park, and it wasnt his first costly error since moving ahead of Mertesacker in Wengers pecking order. His miscued clearance and poor marking allowed Marcus Rashford to score twice in three minutes at Old Trafford, and he was also turned too easily for Odion Ighalos opener in the FA Cup defeat by Watford. Gabriel Paulista endured a difficult afternoon up against Andy Carroll Mertesacker, of course, is not without his limitations, but it was certainly strange to see one of Arsenals most experienced campaigners confined to the bench as his replacement struggled so obviously. It is no coincidence, either, that they have kept two clean sheets since his return to the side last week.The emergence of Alex Iwobi and the encouraging performances of Mohamed Elneny have been bright spots for Wenger, but there have been oddities in attack, too. Olivier Giroud has come back into the team ahead of the more impressive Danny Welbeck despite being on the worst barren run of his Arsenal career, while Joel Campbell appears to have fallen out of contention altogether, despite receiving glowing praise from Wenger as recently as January. Olivier Giroud has only scored in one of his last 20 appearances for Arsenal The decisions raise further questions of a manager who has been unable to arrest another alarming slump. Tottenhams recent draw with West Brom all but ensures Arsenal will avoid the doomsday scenario of their arch-rivals winning the title, but they are still likely to fall short of Mauricio Pochettinos men, and the risk of another fourth-placed finish has only intensified the ill-feeling around the club.And so, Wenger finds himself in the spotlight once again. Two months ago, he might have hoped his 750th Premier League game would present an opportunity to move one step closer to his first title in 12 years, but instead he is facing the same old questions over the same old problems. Saturdays protests will go some way to showing the scale of the dissatisfaction at the Emirates Stadium. Watch Arsenal v Norwich live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 5pm on Saturday Also See: Cazorla set for Arsenal return Wenger likely to stay Fake Vapormax Online . Sources tell TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun the international tournament will likely return in September 2016 rather than 2015. Fake Vapormax . Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons. http://www.fakevapormax.com/. Samir Nasris 88th-minute equalizer at Etihad Stadium will be of little consolation to City, which is now six points behind league leader Liverpool and four points behind second-place Chelsea. Third-place City has a game in hand but the surprise result against Sunderland, coupled with Sundays 3-2 loss at Liverpool, may be a setback too far in its bid for a second championship in three seasons. Fake Vapormax From China . Unfortunately for the Cleveland Cavaliers, James Harden was in the building. Fake Vapormax 2019 . The judge sternly instructed the prosecutor to restrain himself and he apologized -- then went right back to trying to pick holes in the testimony of the double-amputee runner. It was a harsh day of cross-examination for Pistorius, challenged relentlessly about his account of the moments just before he killed Reeva Steenkamp, as well as circumstances related to several firearms charges against him, including the firing of a gun in a crowded restaurant.BRATISLAVA, Slovakia -- Boston Bruins defenceman Zdeno Chara will captain Slovakia at the Sochi Games next month, hoping to improve on fourth place at the Vancouver Olympics. Other major Slovak stars, including Chicago Blackhawks forwards Michal Handzus and Marian Hossa and St. Louis Blues goaltender Jaroslav Halak are also on the 25-man squad that coach Vladimir Vujtek announced on Tuesday. Defencemen Lubomir Visnovsky of the New York Islanders and Michal Sersen of HC Slovan Bratislava together with forward Marian Gaborik of the Columbus Blue Jackets made the team although they are still injured. Slovakia starts the Olympic tournament on Feb. 13 against the United States before facing Slovenia and Russia in Group A. In Vancouver in 2010, Slovakia surprised by placing fourth, its highest finish in Olympic ice hockey.dddddddddddd The complete roster is as follows: Goaltenders: Peter Budaj, Jaroslav Halak, Jan Laco Defence: Ivan Baranka, Zdeno Chara, Dominik Granak, Martin Marincin, Andrej Meszaros, Andrej Sekera, Michal Sersen, Lubomir Visnovsky. Forwards: Milan Bartovic, Marian Gaborik, Michal Handzus, Marcel Hossa, Marian Hossa, Tomas Jurco, Tomas Kopecky, Tomas Marcinko, Michel Miklik, Peter Olvecky, Richard Panik, Tomas Surovy, Tomas Tatar, Tomas Zaborsky. Marian Hossa and the late Pavol Demitra finished first and second in tournament scoring with 10 and nine points respectively. - With files from TSN.ca ' ' '