Arsenal throw away three-goal lead against Anderlecht

Inspired by the man-of-the-moment, Alexis Sánchez, they had surged into a three-goal lead and that appeared to be that. But if there had been a looseness to Arsenal at the start, they collapsed in faintly ludicrous fashion, which will surely mean they will not be able to advance to the Champions League last-16 as Group D winners.Arsenal do not do comfort against Anderlecht. After the drama of the first meeting a fortnight ago when they nicked a 2-1 win with two goals in the last two minutes, it had looked like being an altogether smoother ride for Arsène Wenger and his players.

When the metaphorical dust had settled, it was possible to see that the damage in practical terms was not too severe. Arsenal remain set to progress from the group as runners-up and, had they won here, it would still have taken an almighty turnaround to pip Borussia Dortmund to the top spot. Arsenal’s proud record should remain intact. They are close to a 15th

 consecutive qualification from the group phase.

But there were broader questions about how they could have squandered the victory and they touched plenty of nerves for Wenger. To the eternal angst of everyone connected to the club, they raked over painful, old ground. How could Arsenal have failed to close out the win? Largely because they cannot defend properly against decent teams.

Even Wenger admitted the performance in defensive terms had been “very, very poor” but he had to take the responsibility for his tactics. With the scoreline at 3-2, for example, and the nerves jangling, he brought on two attack-minded players – Tomas Rosicky and Lukas Podolski – in the 83rd minute. It was hardly a move to batten down the hatches. Then again, Arsenal have no experienced defensive cover. Their only defender on the bench was the 19-year-old right-back, Héctor Bellerín.

Arsenal were extremely open all evening and it did not take the loss of the defensive midfielder, Mikel Arteta, to a hamstring injury at 3-1 to precipitate the crash. Wenger’s team simply continued to play the way they always play and Anderlecht, who grew inexorably in confidence, took advantage of the cracks.

Besnik Hasi brought on Andy Kawaya as a second striker and there was a note of disbelief to the Anderlecht manager’s post-match words when he talked of the spaces his team were permitted. “Maybe Arsenal thought that they were on top and they could get more goals and they could have fun in front of the public,” he said.