BATE Borisov 1-0 Arsenal: 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis 

#2 Another awful away Arsenal performance

Lacazette &Co. endured a night of frustration

For a quarter of the current season, Arsenal looked a better team on the road than last term. However, since the turn of the year, the Gunners have been on a downward spiral.

A couple of weeks ago, Arsenal turned in a tremendously tepid display at Manchester City. Thus, many believed that the only way from there for the Gunners was upward. Yet, their performance in Belarus trumped all the depths they had contrived to achieve previously.

The visitors’ offensive play was wretched for the majority of the game. The midfield and the forward line looked bereft of ideas, and played into the hosts’ hands by being too slow with their movements.

On numerous occasions, they got into decent offensive positions but they always seemed to take the wrong option.

Moreover, they were eventually knocked out by the sucker punch, as BATE scored from a set-piece to pile misery on the Gunners.

The pattern of atrocious away performances started with the toothless display at Brighton. At the time, many believed it to be only an anomaly. However, four equally diabolical displays later, it has become a worrying trend for Arsenal.

The Gunners are already a disaster waiting to unravel defensively, and if they stop scoring altogether on away trips, the season which started off promisingly will turn into a damp squib in a trice.