Arsenal have missed “massive opportunity” as Gunners legend highlights biggest issue in FA Cup defeat

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Arsenal legend Michael Thomas believes his old club missed a “massive opportunity” by getting themselves knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest.

The Gunners suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat against the Championship outfit at the weekend, with Thomas highlighting the team’s midfield as a particular area of weakness on the day.

It’s a huge blow for Arsenal, who will surely have seen the FA Cup as one of the more realistic competitions they could try and win this season, but those hopes are already over after this early exit from the competition.

Speaking exclusively to CaughtOffside, Thomas expressed his disappointment at the poor result and highlighted where it went wrong for his old club.

Arsenal suffered a surprise FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest

“The FA Cup was a massive opportunity for the team to try and win some silverware this season that has unfortunately come to an end earlier than expected,” Thomas said.

“The performance was way below the expected level of what we expect from the club and we were punished for it. The players need to pick themselves up as they have another chance at silverware in the Carabao Cup, as well as important league fixtures to push for that top four spot.

“I think the whole team bar Leno in goal were below par. They never got going and couldn’t handle the intensity of the game.

“The middle of the park was a particularly big issue. I know we had players missing which didn’t help. Lokonga and Patino couldn’t get hold of it which was open for all to see.”

Arsenal had been showing real improvement with five consecutive wins before defeats in their last two games, and it will be interesting to see if they can bounce back in some challenging upcoming fixtures against Liverpool and Tottenham.

More Stories Albert Sambi Lokonga Bernd Leno Charlie Patino Michael Thomas Mikel Arteta

2 Comments

  1. We have a squad very much influenced by Covid-19 and injuries. In general we are lacking squad depth and due to the African Cup of Nations it have become worse. I’m afraid that we can get more negative results in the coming weeks due to the same reasons. Let’s hope that Arteta and Edu can find a few quality players during the transfer window. From my point of view it’s crucial for our top four hope.

  2. No problem going out of the FAC this season. max 3 games for the Milk cup then 1 game a week in the EPL.

    Klopp has asked for a postponement until after the AFCON as one of his players has a headache

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