Arsenal's vulnerable defence is their Achilles heel still

The Gunners' propensity to throw away leads looks like it will be a feature of this season as much as it has been in the last one.

Quite why we're conceding headed goals from set pieces when we've got Mertesacker in the box is anyone's guess. If I had to analyse it more, I'd say the general lack of height in the side makes us vulnerable at corners. I mean, Mertesacker can only mark one player, if that. Man City had quite a few unmarked players to aim at for the corner that made it 2-2. We need to address this: a job for Bouldy, perhaps.

Additionally, we need to protect our wings better. We're still incredibly vulnerable to counter-attacks. We need to do something about this in training. Basically, we need to get more bodies behind the ball quicker than we are, so the defensive midfielder or closest central defender can close down the space left by our overlapping full backs. I'll watch with interest, but suspect we won't do anything about this, although even MOTD have pointed out our frailties in that respect.

As well as my customary moan, I should pay homage to Alexis Sanchez and Jack Wilshere, who both played starring roles with a goal apiece.

Meanwhile, if only Danny Welbeck's early chip had gone in, perhaps we'd be looking at 3 points against the champions instead of 1. A solid debut from him and plenty of fighting spirit throughout our side. Reasons to be cheerful as well as worried about Debuchy's injury and our defending.

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Arsenal's Welbeck mystery

I was more than a little surprised to read Arsene Wenger's comments about Danny Welbeck today.

The Arsenal manager is quoted in the Metro as saying: 'If I had not travelled [to Rome] that [transfer deadline] day, Welbeck would not be here [at Arsenal].'

Sorry about all the square brackets, but it was necessary! A bit like Welbeck's arrival!

Wenger added mysteriously: 'I will tell you the story one day but that is the truth.'

However, Welbeck IS wanted by Wenger, perhaps because Le Boss thinks he can make the England striker a better player. I'd say there's every chance of that happening, primarily because of Welbeck's work ethic.

Man U boss Louis van Gaal may live to regret selling Welbeck, but for now he simply said: [Danny] does not have the record of Van Persie or Rooney'.

However, Welbeck may well end up proving van Gaal wrong. The 23-year-old has age on his side and is eager to please his new employers, starting against Man City tomorrow.

More goals please Danny!


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Arsenal sign #Jackofalltrades

So the transfer window slams shut and Arsenal buy Danny Welbeck for around £16m.

The 23-year-old England international gets a number on his back to match his years, but let's hope he fares better than a previous number 23: Andrey Arshavin.

As regular readers will know, Arshavin was a favourite of mine. I've always liked players who can play the killer pass, but invariably these number 10s are played on the left wing by
Wenger. Even Mesut Ozil has suffered the same fate, at times, so it's no surprise that we only rarely saw the best of Arshavin.

I mean, would you employ a carpenter to fix your plumbing? That's the kind of question you ask when you play a player out of position.

However, Wenger won't have that problem with Welbeck. He's a Jack of all trades, but perhaps 'master of none'. Nevertheless, he's a decent acquisition; it's difficult to deny otherwise.

As long as we don't expect too many goals from him, we won't be disappointed.

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Ryo joins FC Twente

Ryo Miyaichi must have a thing for Holland, after his successful loan spell with Feyenoord.

Now the Japanese winger has a chance to revive those memories, as he starts a loan spell with FC Twente, according to Arseblog.

He certainly needs game-time and a chance to build up his confidence, so hopefully Ryo should benefit from this latest loan spell.

The question is whether he has a future at Arsenal. Despite his pace, most fans are saying 'no', but it's Wenger's view that matters, of course.

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Falcao envy? Welbeck a better bet?

I can't help but feel envious of Man U. Wenger has historical ties with Monaco, yet United steal a march on us by signing Radamel Falcao from the principality.

To add insult to injury, in some people's eyes, we may end up with Man U's cast-off, Danny Welbeck. Then again, maybe it's not as bad as it sounds.

Welbeck doesn't have the glamour of Falcao, but he'll more than match him for industry. And he has Premier League experience, so should hit the ground running.

And he'll be a lot cheaper, which appears to be the most important thing for Arsenal.

Falcao is on £450k per week, of which Man U have to pay £300k. As well as that, they'll have to pay around £20m to make the deal permanent, if the loan works out.

So my heart may say 'Falcao', but my head agrees that Welbeck is a less risky acquisition.

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In defence of Sanogo

After Arsenal's 1-1 draw at Leicester and the aftermath, I feel compelled to leap to Yaya Sanogo's defence.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't Sanogo have a hand in the opening goal, despatched clinically by Sanchez.

Therefore, I conclude that Sanogo did his job, at least to some extent. That's why I can't understand why so many fans are on his back.

After all, Sanogo's still young and he's yet to have a long run in the team after recovering from a long-term injury.

Yes, Sanogo is raw, but he is a handful. It's obvious Premier League defenders don't like playing against him and they try to mark him tightly. This frees up space for the likes of Sanchez to strike, as we saw at the weekend.

Meanwhile, Joel Campbell is largely untried while Podolski is (perhaps quite rightly) mainly overlooked. I say 'rightly' because Podolski's cameo appearance against Leicester did little to convince.

However, Wenger needs to consider making substitutions earlier. Poor Poldi had only 15 minutes of normal time to impress. But impress, he didn't.

It looks like Poldi's time may be up. If he does go then surely we can bring in a proper number 9 to take his place.

We've got the money but have we got the inclination? Maybe not enough, as we've already missed out on Balotelli and Remy, both of whom would have offered us viable attacking options.

Instead without the injured Giroud, we're left with a rookie (Campbell), a trier (Sanogo), a seemingly disinterested or unfit clinical finisher (Poldi) and a new signing finding his feet in a new league (Sanchez).

All the above options are risky. If we're serious about winning the title, we need a new striker.

I'm not saying the current crop are not good enough, as it's too early to judge at least 3 of them. However, we need more options, not excuses and points unnecessarily dropped.

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