Van Persie 'surprised' by errors

[BBC Sport]

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie speaks of his displeasure at the club's disappointing start to the season.

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[Calum]

Arsenal captain Robin van Persie has spoken of his displeasure at the club's disappointing start to the season.

The Gunners have lost three of their opening five league matches to leave them one place above the bottom three.

"It just frustrates me and it is happening too often," Van Persie told the Arsenal website. "Every time we start positively we keep making the same mistakes and that is surprising."

But the striker insisted there is still time to turn their fortunes around.

Arsene Wenger's side slumped to a 4-3 defeat at Blackburn on Saturday, with both Alex Song and Laurent Koscielny turning the ball into their own net.

That came three weeks after the 8-2 thrashing by Manchester United and the Netherlands forward spoke of the need to improve sooner rather than later.

He commented: "Even before the game on Saturday I said to the boys 'today is a big, big day'. We have to get back-to-back wins, and we just cannot do that at the moment.

"That is our aim for the next couple of games, we have to win them after each other.

"We just need a couple of good weeks in the Premier League where we get a lot of points, and hopefully we can start next week against Bolton.

"There is lots of time [left this season], but at some point you need to pick yourself up and prove what you are capable of. We are not doing that at the moment and are not consistent enough."

With Cesc Fabregas and Samir Nasri leaving Emirates Stadium during the summer transfer window, Wenger had little time to replace them, though he did bring in Mikel Arteta from Everton, Andre Santos from Fenerbahce and Werder Bremen's Per Mertesacker shortly before the deadline.

Arsenal's next five Premier League fixtures
•24 Sept - Bolton (h)
•2 Oct - Tottenham (a)
•16 Oct - Sunderland (h)
•23 Oct - Stoke (h)
•29 Oct - Chelsea (a)
Former Gunners manager George Graham, who led his Arsenal side to two league titles, told BBC Radio 5 live: "They left it late to bring in these players so he's not had time to work with the players he's brought in.

"Some of their tactical play is still the best in the league and even against Blackburn, their possession play was fantastic.

"Arsene's been there for 15 years and this is probably going to be the toughest period. In the past he's brought in players who are good players and turned them into world-class players.

"Now the jury is out. Can the players he has brought in recently turn out to be as good as the ones from his past?"

Arsenal take on League Two side Shrewsbury in the third round of the Carling Cup on Tuesday night.

 

[ajt09]

Well, if he got the REAL CBs he was being linked with the defence would be a lot more solid than it is now. Oh well. There's always January eh Arsene?

 

[Calum]

Well, if he got the REAL CBs he was being linked with the defence would be a lot more solid than it is now. Oh well. There's always January eh Arsene?

you should be happy, it was his faffing about with bids that kept your best defender

 

[ajt09]

you should be happy, it was his faffing about with bids that kept your best defender

Oh I am lol. Been talking to other Arsenal fans who were saying he was too old-unsurprisingly they changed their tune. If he got Cahill and Jags the CB partnership would've been spot on.

 

[Calum]

Oh I am lol. Been talking to other Arsenal fans who were saying he was too old-unsurprisingly they changed their tune. If he got Cahill and Jags the CB partnership would've been spot on.

if we got both one would be the 3rd choice though as Vemaelan is the first pick when fit.

 

[vlad-the-impaling-gunner]

I think we're just cursed............or maybe we just suck. Either way, it's a effing terrible start to the season.

 

[ajt09]

I think we're just cursed............or maybe we just suck. Either way, it's a effing terrible start to the season.

Long way to go though. Wouldn't be the first team to have a bad start and definately not the last. There's a point when the big clubs have a a bad/slow start.

 

[Jack Fulham]

My query is, if results stay like this, how do Arsenal justify there ticket prices?

 

[vlad-the-impaling-gunner]

Long way to go though. Wouldn't be the first team to have a bad start and definately not the last. There's a point when the big clubs have a a bad/slow start.

I agree, there is still quite some time to clean this mess and put our house straight. The returns of Wilshere and Vermaelen should help plus the new signings should start settling down too.

 

[Calum]

My query is, if results stay like this, how do Arsenal justify there ticket prices?

they cant. simple

 

[vlad-the-impaling-gunner]

they cant. simple

Unless we land the following in January: Hazard, Cahill, M'vila, and maybe throw in Sneijder. On a more serious note, how can those money-grabbing *Insert swear here* sleep peacefully at night when they are ripping the fans off like that.