Arsenal 0-2 Tottenham Hotspur: 3 reasons why the Gunners lost | Carabao Cup 2018-19 

#3 Centre-back struggles

Arsenal lacked pace in defence

That the Gunners are suffering from injuries is very well known. Sokratis’ return was a positive sign for Arsenal, but they had a makeshift defence and it backfired against a fast counter attacking Spurs team.

There was no reason for Unai Emery to start with a back four after playing the whole season with a back three. It was only in the second half when he brought on Koscielny for Mkhitaryan that the balance of the team looked good.

Arsenal lacked pace in defence which was continuously exposed by Son and Alli. Sokratis, Monreal, and Xhaka are not the fastest ones and it showed in this match. Emery has to look for more creative solutions rather than just using Xhaka everywhere.