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Petr Cech - not Arsene Wenger - leads furious dressing room inquest after Arsenal thrashing
Petr Cech ripped into his Arsenal team-mates as he conducted a dressing-room inquest that raised more question marks over the management of Arsene Wenger following the shambolic defeat against Liverpool.
Goalkeeper Cech took it upon himself to tell the Arsenal players that they had let the club down and embarrassed themselves at Anfield.
Witnesses have revealed the 35-year-old was furious with the performance and decided to take matters into his own hands after the final whistle of the 4-0 thrashing.
But the fact it was Cech and not Wenger who blasted the team will only strengthen the opinion of the Frenchman’s critics that he is not hard enough on his under-performing players.
Cech was the only Arsenal player to leave Anfield with any credit following the 4-0 thrashing that could have been worse were it not for some fine saves from the Czech Republic international.
Having spent 11 years at Chelsea and won four Premier League titles, Cech was shocked at how easily Arsenal capitulated against Jurgen Klopp’s team.
Cech described the defeat and the performance as “unacceptable” in an interview after the game, but was far harsher on his team-mates in the confines of the dressing-room.
There was significant surprise among the squad and his staff that Wenger decided to start Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, even though the midfielder reiterated his desire to leave Arsenal days before the Liverpool game.
Oxlade-Chamberlain’s mind looked elsewhere during the defeat and less than 24 hours later Arsenal accepted a bid from Chelsea for the England international.
There was equal bewilderment that summer signing Alexandre Lacazette started on the substitutes’ bench at Anfield, as another of Wenger’s contract rebels, Alexis Sanchez, stepped straight back in.
Midfielder Aaron Ramsey has admitted that something needs to change at Arsenal, saying: “We're very disappointed with the way we performed, but we have to accept it. We're sorry to the fans that came up - it's not good enough and we have to do something about it.
“We're going to have to change something if we're to compete this year. Liverpool showed what it's going to have to take to compete for the Premier League and we're going to have to do something about it if we're going to do that."