Arsenal are so naive and it's costing them: Everyone knows how to play against them... can Arsene Wenger find the answers?

• Arsenal crumbled against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night
• The Germans could have matched the heavy defeats Arsenal received from Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City last season
• Arsene Wenger's side play the same way wherever they go, and get caught
• They feel they can beat anyone, anywhere, playing their own game
• Chelsea finished three points ahead of Arsenal last term, but bought well
• Why didn't Wenger go for Petr Cech, Diego Costa or Filipe Luis?
• It was good to see Everton strike a blow with their 4-1 win over Wolfsburg
• This year's Europa League winner goes into the Champions League
• Vincent Kompany vs Costa will be an epic battle at the Etihad Stadium 

By Jamie Carragher for The Daily Mail

Published: 16:34 EST, 19 September 2014 | Updated: 17:41 EST, 19 September 2014

It is still early in the season but already serious questions are being asked of Arsenal. The biggest one, I feel, is this: what is changing?

Watching them crumble against Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night, it was impossible to escape the conclusion that they aren’t learning. 

For a decade now, Arsenal have been unable to contain opponents who go with a fast, physical gameplan. Everyone knows how to play against them.

Arsenal were defeated 2-0 in Dortmund on Tuesday, but it could have been much more for the Germans

Danny Welbeck has been brought in from Manchester United, but is yet to score after a host of chances

Dortmund could have comfortably run up a score similar to the ones posted by Liverpool (5-1 in February) and Chelsea (6-0 in March), but the aspect I found most alarming was the fact they have only kept three clean sheets in their past 29 Champions League away games. That, frankly, is an awful record.

When I watch Arsenal now, I get frustrated. They play the same way wherever they go — with their full-backs pushed up high and wide — and get caught on the counter-attack. They are the away team! They should be doing that to the home team when they go travelling.

Why don’t they learn? It is unforgivable that this keeps happening.

The penny needs to drop. When I played in Europe with Liverpool, the first objective was always to get a clean sheet: make yourself difficult to break down then, if a chance arose, pounce and pick up whatever you could. If the home fans didn’t like it, so what?

Yet Arsenal feel they can beat anyone. Anywhere. Playing their own game. It’s naive. The only team able to get away with such a philosophy in recent years was Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona — one of the greatest sides of all time — but even he wasn’t afraid to concoct different tactical plans.

Look at how last year’s champions, Real Madrid, secured their place in the final by playing on the counter-attack against Bayern Munich — and that was in the first leg at the Bernabeu. It was the best tactic for them to use.

Doing things differently is vital. Jose Mourinho, for one, always has a surprise up his sleeve. Sir Alex Ferguson, remember, sometimes used Park Ji-sung in man-marking roles in Europe and would have Cristiano Ronaldo up front on his own, as he knew he would not track the opposition full-back.

With Arsenal, though, it seems there is one way only and you can’t help but wonder where it is all heading. Wenger is a legendary figure in our game; his achievements will stand the test of time but you sometimes question whether there is a negative to him being so secure in his job.

Arsene Wenger must go back to the drawing board if he is to take Arsenal to the next level

Arsene Wenger: Mesut Ozil should not be made a scapegoat

Arsenal stars Alexis Sanchez (left) and Jack Wilshere (right) look dejected on Tuesday night

Last season, Chelsea finished three points ahead of Arsenal in third place. But Wenger had the better campaign, as he finished it with the FA Cup. Mourinho knows there is going to be scrutiny on him and his position this season if he does not succeed, so he has strengthened his squad impressively. 

In came proven winners — headed by Diego Costa, Cesc Fabregas and Didier Drogba — and the results, bar an unexpected stutter against Schalke in midweek, are there for all to see. Chelsea are favourites to lift the Barclays Premier League after four straight victories.

Wenger, by contrast, buys players with the future in mind. Take Danny Welbeck and Calum Chambers. Both are fine prospects, but there isn’t the same scrutiny on Wenger from the boardroom as there is with Mourinho. It’s like he’s always looking to tomorrow, not addressing today.

Why wasn’t Wenger in the market for Costa when everyone knew Arsenal needed a proven striker?

Why not try to sign Petr Cech, the best goalkeeper in the Premier League last year? Yes, Alexis Sanchez has quality but was he really what Arsenal required?

Chelsea, who finished just ahead of Arsenal, went out and signed Diego Costa from Atletico Madrid

Why didn't Arsene Wenger try to sign Chelsea's Petr Cech, or rival them for defender Filipe Luis?

I’ve said before that Arsenal’s spine is not strong enough. With questions hanging over Nacho Monreal and Kieran Gibbs, they needed a left back, so why didn’t they rival Chelsea for Filipe Luis?

Go back 10 years and Arsenal had a template for winning the title. I can only stress, again, that between 2002 and 2004, they were the best team I ever faced. They had pace and power, skill and top ability from goalkeeper to centre forward.

I understand that it’s difficult to keep finding players such as Thierry Henry, Dennis Bergkamp and Patrick Vieira but there were others — Lauren, Edu, Sylvain Wiltord and Freddie Ljungberg — who were not the biggest names but all had class and all could handle the physical demands of the English football.

Now when you look at Arsenal, you see very few who look capable of enduring the rigours of a Premier League campaign. Arsenal look weak and they are screaming out for someone with presence to help hold their midfield together.

Welbeck (left) and Calum Chambers are prospects, but Arsenal are always looking to tomorrow and not today

They do, of course, remain capable of playing fine football but memories of the days when they did it in the biggest games are fading. They are entering a period now that could prove crucial in defining the shape of their season.

After Saturday's meeting with Aston Villa, they have the small matter of the north London derby, then a trip to Stamford Bridge; there is also a Champions League tussle with Galatasaray. The biggest concern is their performance in the big contests. Even when they went 2-1 up against Manchester City last Saturday, I never felt Arsenal would win. They should have lost the game in the end and you always expect them to concede in the pressure moments.

If that doesn’t change, nothing in the bigger picture will change, either. They won’t challenge for the biggest prizes and they will continue to be picked off in the crucial fixtures. It is up to Wenger to find the answers.

Of course, replacing the likes of Thierry Henry and Dennis Bergkamp was always going to be a tough task

Arsene Wenger reveals Cristiano Ronaldo regret during fan Q&A

Euro stars Everton eye route to the elite

If results were mixed for English sides in the Champions League, it was good to see Everton strike a blow with their thumping 4-1 win against Wolfsburg.

Roberto Martinez selected his strongest team and was rewarded with an excellent result and performance against quality opposition. It was good to see him take that approach, particularly when some Premier League teams in the past have played as if they don’t want to be in Europe.

Steven Naismith celebrates with Leighton Baines after the defender scored a penalty in the 48th minute

The question now facing Everton, though, is how do they cope with the rhythm of playing Thursday-Sunday football? Can they keep producing results in the Premier League after they have been in Russia, France and Germany?

Should they be able to do that, they will be in for another successful season and it might just be that the Europa League offers Martinez the best opportunity to fulfil the ambition that he promised Bill Kenwright when he arrived in June 2013.

Goodison Park looked a picture under the floodlights on Thursday evening against Wolfsburg

Martinez said he would ‘get Everton into the Champions League’ and the Europa League gives him a chance to get there. Everton got 72 points in the Premier League last season yet still couldn’t finish in the top four and competition for those places will only be harder again this time around.

Everton, however, have shown they are going to take the Europa League seriously and that might open up a bigger avenue to them further down the line.

This week I’m looking forward to...

Watching Diego Costa and Vincent Kompany go to war.

If Manchester City’s clash with Chelsea is the game of the season so far, the subplot of Sunday's clash between Kompany and Costa is fascinating.

I watched Kompany last week against Arsenal and he was outstanding. He is the number one defender in the Barclays Premier League and playing at the top of his game, but the challenge he will face from Costa is going to be different than anything he has had this season.

Kompany puts his body on the line against Bayern Munich in an attempt to stop Robert Lewandowski

Similar sentiments apply to Costa. He was deservedly Player of the Month for August and seven goals in his first four matches make him the most feared striker in the division, but he has not tackled a defender of Kompany’s calibre.

I have been in Kompany’s position before and when you know you are going to face one of the best attackers in the game, it is only natural that you spend time thinking about your private battle, not just the outcome of the game in general.

The way it looks at the moment, City and Chelsea are going to be the teams slugging it out for the title and even at this early stage, getting an advantage could be significant. Much will depend on who emerges on top between Kompany and Costa.

One thing is for sure and that is that it will be compelling viewing.

Diego Costa scored a hat-trick against Swansea and has seven in four league matches this season

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