The Gunners have recently had an upturn in form…
Arsenal star Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain has claimed that the players – and not manager Arsene Wenger – are to blame for the club’s poor start to the season, reports the Daily Mail.
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The Gunners suffered from a poor start to the season led to them finishing second in their Champions League group, knocked out of the League Cup, and outside of the Premier League top four.
However, things have started to look up for them recently with their form turning around and a lucky draw in Europe meaning that they only have to play AS Monaco in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Wenger came under pressure during the poor start to the campaign, but the England international believes that the players are to blame and not the coach.
The 21-year-old understands the fans frustrations so far, but thinks that it should be directed at the people on the pitch and not the one on the bench.
“It’s a hard one for me to say what I would say to the fans. I understand their frustration. I would definitely say that and they are completely entitled to their own opinion. They pay good money to follow us around and support their club,” he told the London Evening Standard.
“I am sure they have supported us for a number of years so they are definitely entitled to their opinion and I can understand their frustration. But I wouldn’t put that on the manager. We have to stand up ourselves as players. On that day [at Stoke], it wasn’t the manager’s fault we went 3-0 down like we did in the first half. It was us as a group of players — we were not at the required level,” he continued
“On that day, it would have been harsh for a fan to completely blame our manager. As players, we are adults and we need to stand up and take some of that blame ourselves,” he concluded.
The North London club go up against Liverpool on Sunday, in what will be a huge match for both teams’ chances of finishing in the Champions League qualification spots come May.