[Match report] Sheffield Wednesday 3-0 Arsenal – Out of the cup after abysmal display

Let’s be honest Arsenal fans, you don’t really want to read this, and I certainly don’t want to write it. That was nothing short of diabolical, and a 3-0 loss at the hands of a Championship side is nothing short of what we deserved.

Arsene Wenger named a much changed side, with a handful of youth players and a number of fringe players starting the game.

Things looked bad right from the off, with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain having to be withdrawn with what appeared to be a hamstring injury; which given our current lengthy injury list would be a real blow if he’s out for any length of time.

Theo Walcott replaced him, but in typical Arsenal fashion he then suffered an injury of his own, and he too had to be replaced.

Our heads dropped further after Walcott was replaced, and we went behind soon after. Mathieu Debuchy and Mathieu Flamini were largely to blame for the first goal, with the French pair showing a complete lack of desire. Debuchy barely got a jog on when chasing back after he was caught out of position, and Flamini’s lethargic attempt at clearing the ball ahead of Ross Wallace showed just how little he wanted to be on the pitch.

Both players looked like they had no interest in playing for Arsenal, and there are question marks over whether they should be given the chance to do so again after performances like that.

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Wednesday’s Sam Hutchinson arguably should have been sent off after an ugly two footed challenge on young Alex Iwobi, but the referee only saw fit to give him a yellow.

We then conceded a second goal before half time, with more poor defending allowing Lucas Joao to head home from a more than avoidable set piece goal.

There was more of the same in the second half, and just six minutes in we conceded again. Per Mertesacker failed to organise his ranks properly, and we were puished by yet another simple set piece. Tom Lees was left totally unmarked at the back post, and the free kick was lofted over our defence to the Wednesday man. He squared it across the box, where Sam Hutchinson – the player who perhaps should have seen red earlier – and Mathieu Debuchy conspired to put it into the back of the net.

We barely created anything throughout the game, and none of the players can really be surprised at the result. The closest we came to scoring was a Mertesacker header that was well saved, and we probably could have lost be more in truth.

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We dominated possession as expected, but the majority of it was with Calum Chambers and Per Mertesacker. Being out of the Capital One Cup certainly isn’t the end of the world, as we can focus on more serious competitions, but the injuries sustained could certainly be a problem. Hopefully they aren’t too serious.