Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger refused to blame goalkeeper Petr Cech or any individual performances after his side sank to a disappointing 2-0 defeat by West Ham United in their opening Premier League match of the season on Sunday.
Cech’s arrival after an 11-year trophy-laden spell at Chelsea was met with great optimism by supporters and hailed as the missing piece in Arsenal’s quest for a first Premier League title since 2004.
But the Czech international was far from his commanding best at the Emirates, failing to deal with Dimitri Payet’s free kick in the build-up to Cheikhou Kouyate’s header before being beaten at his near post by Mauro Zarate’s low strike.
“I haven’t spoken to him (Cech) yet,” Wenger told reporters. “I can’t see many individual convincing performances today so it’s difficult to single someone out.
“It was a collective one. I think there are many things to say about that. I knew that if the delivery was good, we would be in trouble before the free kick was taken.
“We have enough experience at the back. If you look at our back line, I think the youngest age is 30.”
The Gunners were hoping to make a flying start and show that they are serious contenders to challenge for Chelsea crown.
Against Slaven Bilic’s well-organised West Ham, however, Arsenal struggled to impose themselves and Wenger was frustrated with the way his team went about their business.
“I think our performance was not convincing,” the Frenchman said. “I felt we were a bit nervous and we rushed our game a bit.
“We didn’t always respect the basics. We wanted to be too quick going forward in first half.
“I don’t think we were too confident, I would rather say too nervous maybe.
“On top of that, I feel we gave two very cheap goals away and they were at the wrong moments -- just before and after halftime.
“We gave ourselves a mountain to climb.”
Arsenal travel to Crystal Palace next Sunday before hosting Liverpool and Wenger has urged his side to bounce back quickly.
“It’s difficult but it’s part of our job,” he said. “A successful season is how you respond to disappointments and it’s never a clear motorway.
“We have to respond quickly. We have a tricky start.”
Earlier in the day, Kouyate headed West Ham into the lead just two minutes before the break after poor judgment by the former Chelsea goalkeeper, who was then wrong-footed by Zarate’s shot from outside the area in the 57th minute.
Tipped to be title challengers this season and coming off a 1-0 win over champion Chelsea in the Community Shield, Arsenal failed to create clear chances against a well-organized West Ham defense under new manager Bilic.
The London derby was briefly interrupted in the 75th after a nasty clash of heads in the area between Arsenal striker Olivier Giroud and West Ham defender James Tomkins. Both men were given immediate attention by team medical staff and both players saw the game out to the end.
Widely seen as one of the best moves of the pre-season transfer market so far, Cech’s arrival for a reported fee of about 11 million pounds ($17.3 million) is designed to strengthen Arsenal bid for a first league title since 2004.
However, the 33-year-old goalkeeper was caught out just before the break when Dimitri Payet sent a free kick into the area. Cech decided to race off his line and try to clear the danger but Kouyate got to the ball first and sent a glancing header into an unguarded Arsenal net.
Superbly taken, the goal came against the run of play in a half where Arsenal enjoyed plenty of possession but lacked the decisive final ball.
And the same pattern continued after the re-start. Arsenal kept West Ham on the back foot, Giroud fired a half-chance into the side-netting and both Mesut Ozil and Aron Ramsey were kept busy trying to find a way through.
But instead of finding an equalizer, Arsenal fell further behind after Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain gave away possession as the home side tried to clear from the edge of its penalty area.
Zarate latched onto the ball, twisted and unleashed a low shot to Cech’s right as the `keeper prepared to cover the bigger gap to his left.
With an hour on the clock, West Ham had registered two goals from only two shots on target.
In a desperate bid to turn the game around, Wenger sent on Alexis Sanchez in the 67th minute, having planned to rest the Chile striker after his recent triumph in the Copa America.
Wenger sacrificed right back Mathieu Debuchy for Sanchez but the ploy failed to deliver, though Arsenal’s sustained pressure led to the clash of heads as Giroud and Tomkins both jumped for an aerial ball.
After treatment, the game continued with Oxlade-Chamberlain firing a rasping shot into the side netting. Sanchez managed to get into a good position inside the area in the closing stages, but managed only a weak shot that summed up Arsenal’s afternoon.
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