Arsenal need Arsene Wenger to solve problems in defence and attack

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said his side lacked creativity in their 2-1 comeback win in the Champions League against Anderlecht.

Fans will hope that the 2-1 win in Anderlecht was some sort of turning point for Arsenal this season. At least it should give the players a boost of confidence, because that is one of their many problems at the moment.
You could see there was a lack of belief in their performance for 88 minutes in Brussels, because the shaky defence is making the whole team look rather nervous.
Lose to Anderlecht and Arsenal's season would have been teetering on the brink of disaster, as they are already 11 points behind Chelsea in the Premier League title race. Another defeat -- having already lost at Borussia Dortmund -- would have left them in a right old mess in the Champions League too.
But just when it seemed that Arsenal were down and out, they pulled off a remarkable fightback, Kieran Gibbs and Lukas Podolski scoring in the final two minutes to get them out of jail.

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Arsenal got lucky because they didn't play well. They haven't played well for a while now and, most worryingly of all, they don't look like scoring at the moment.
It's a big week for Arsenal because you've got to get an away win somewhere along the line to feel confident of reaching the knockout stages. But, more important than that, they have to win at Sunderland to get their Premier League campaign back on track. It's been two wins from eight games so far this season, which is nowhere near good enough, and they are facing a side who just lost 8-0 to Southampton.
Arsenal were supposed to be title contenders yet they have come up worryingly short compared to Chelsea and Manchester City so far this season. The biggest single issue for me is the defence. They are not defending well as a unit, as a team, and they also lack strength in depth in there.
Per Mertesacker was a rock last season but he's not played anywhere near his best since the World Cup and is making uncharacteristic mistakes, like not getting tight enough on forwards and not marking his man. He's really been struggling.
Laurent Koscielny has been out injured, and for Arsenal not to have more cover is unforgivable. Calum Chambers has been a terrific signing but he's needed at right-back to cover for the injured Mathieu Debuchy.
That has pressed Nacho Monreal into action at centre-back and, unsurprisingly, against Anderlecht he looked every inch a full-back playing out of position.
Kieran Gibbs -- not just because of his goal -- is the one really doing himself justice at the moment. Gibbs has kicked on. yet if the team is not defending well then it doesn't matter how individuals are playing.
Chambers has had a good season overall and surely it's time to put him back in the middle -- where I'm certain he'll end up playing for club and country -- use young Hector Bellerin at right-back, and then suddenly the back four would look a bit more secure.
In front of them, however, it's hard to know what's best to do. In my view, the 4-1-4-1 system -- designed to squeeze as many attacking players in as possible -- is not working, especially as Arsenal don't have a traditional midfield anchorman to play as the shield in front of the back four.
Arsene Wenger has not yet found the right balance, the right system or the right formation to get the best out of this team. Until that happens, Arsenal won't find the necessary consistency to put together a decent run of results in the league.
Let's be honest: the win over Anderlecht was, to a degree, papering over the cracks. They got lucky, although there's nothing lucky about reaching the Champions League knockout stages year after year. They're going for a remarkable 15th year in a row.
That is a testament to Wenger and his management. Yes, he made mistakes in the summer by not buying a midfield general and another centre-back to bolster the squad. But there's no doubt that Arsenal -- despite the Alexis Sanchez deal, which in particular looks great business -- missed an opportunity to really kick on.
Arsenal are so close yet so far away. Wenger has been fielding questions about why he didn't sign another centre-back for weeks now and must have been hoping it wouldn't have become such an issue quite so quickly. But it was always going to. Koscielny knew he had an Achilles problem; Thomas Vermaelen was sold and that meant they are short. A top-quality midfield anchorman would have made the world of difference, too.
Still, they need to make the best of it until the transfer window reopens and that has to start with ditching the 4-1-4-1 formation. Not only is it not working in defence (the man in front of the back four is left exposed), it's also not getting the best out of the forwards either.
Sometimes you have to leave even your best players out to find the right balance; maybe Wenger needs to make some painful decisions to give the team a better shape and a new direction, as well as solving some problems in attack and defence