Arsenal Fans Take Aim at Defensive Pair After Woeful Display Against Newcastle
After a run of seven games without defeat, Arsenal's recent spell of good form was undone once against by an awful away performance.
While Arsenal produced a number of good chances and their attacking lineup looked bright in spells, it was their defence which ultimately let them down.
It was a heavily rotated lineup for the Gunners, with Calum Chambers and Rob Holding lining up in place of Laurent Koscileny and Hector Bellerin in defence. Unfortunately it was this defensive pairing which got the worst of the criticism from Arsenal fans.
Calum Chambers has been at Arsenal for four seasons now and is yet to find his place in the Gunners' squad. After this performance against Newcastle it is clear he is not a right-back but has he also not performed consistently enough to keep a place in central defence.
Meanwhile Rob Holding is only in his second season at Arsenal since making to move up from Championship side Bolton Wanderers. The 22-year-old has shown glimpses of his quality, like in the 2017 FA Cup final against Chelsea. There may still be time for Holding to develop into a strong central defender.
It is clear that all of Arsene Wenger's eggs are in the Europa League-shaped basket after heavily rotating his squad for this game against Newcastle. While the Magpies are in a good spell of form themselves, Arsenal's squad depth is a clear concern.
They will need to recruit in the summer and a defensive overhaul could be the number one priority.
