Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has accepted external criticisms of his players, particularly the notion that we’re a soft touch, and challenged the squad to be more aggressive, the Mirror reports.
Wenger’s latest comments seem to stem from the fact that a 16-year-old Reece Oxford was allowed to boss the midfield for West Ham United last weekend.
Oxford, as expected, couldn’t replicate the performance against Leicester City this weekend and was substituted at half-time in a 2-1 defeat.
For Wenger, the problem is clear – he believes that we can be rather timid at times.
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“Sometimes, we are maybe too nice,” Wenger was quoted as saying in the publication.
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“If you want to say our aggressive level last Sunday was not big enough, then I would agree with you.”
This admission is rather alarming, especially given the fact that Wenger has staunchly defended the mental strength of our players in recent years.
Teams that are ‘too nice’ do not win titles and we certainly need to overcome those mental deficiencies if we’re to sustain a title challenge.
Crystal Palace is up next and we certainly cannot go to Selhurst Park lacking the stomach for the fight – or we’ll be in real trouble.
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