Arsene Wenger defended Alexis Sanchez after the Arsenal forward once again failed to make an impact as the Gunners stumbled to a 0-0 draw at West Ham.
Sanchez has not scored in his previous three games and, though he provided an assist in the 1-1 draw against Southampton, has shown a worrying profligacy in possession.
In total, the Chilean has conceded possession 87 times in Arsenal’s last three games, including on 21 occasions at the London Stadium, and his indifferent display saw Wenger withdraw him for Alexandre Lacazette as the visitors chased a winner in the final 10 minutes.
But Wenger shifted the focus from his struggling star to that of a team who are proving no less profligate, with the 66 shots they have registered in games against Manchester United, Southampton and West Ham adding up to just two goals.
“In a situation like that you do not want to focus on one player, you focus more on the collective attitude of the team and keep them focused on the quality of our game,” Wenger told Standard Sport.
“We create chances. [The goals] will come. It’s difficult to say he’s had a dip. He tried tonight. It was difficult because they defended very well as well.”
Though they dominated possession at the London Stadium, the visitors did not have the better of the opportunities and could have lost at the death had Petr Cech not tipped Javier Hernandez’s curling effort onto the crossbar.
Victory would have been no less than West Ham merited as they held the Gunners at bay with ease.
Arsenal’s attack has not been the same since David De Gea repelled them in Manchester United’s 3-1 win at the Emirates earlier this month, a result which Wenger admits his side are still haunted by.
He added: “The 33 shots on goal and the chances we missed against Manchester United maybe had a little bit of an impact. We have to continue to focus on the quality of our game and not to focus too much on the fact that we are not ruthless at the moment.
“That will come back by not making too big a problem of it.”
