Nothing is making the pain go away. Nonetheless, the links:
Arsène Wenger is at a loss. Well, Mr. Manager, so is everyone, after yesterday.
Arseblogger, for one, thinks it might have something to do with management style. As hard as that is to pin down, he might be on to something; who knows? He says:
And at the end of the day the buck stops with one man and that’s Arsene Wenger. He has serious questions to answer about his team, how he motivates them and how well he manages them. I mentioned yesterday how nearly every time he talks about how we’ve matured or how we’ve got the strongest squad ever he ends up with egg on his face. Yesterday they were fried, scrambled, poached and hard boiled. Whatever he said to that group of players at half-time yesterday was wrong. Or it wasn’t said with enough conviction.
The only time in recent memory that Wenger has yelled at the squad was during halftime at Anfield last season. That probably changed yesterday after the match.
Yogi's Warrior at A Cultured Left Foot talks about the fortitude necessary to declare one's title intentions, and how Arsenal have not yet fully displayed that attribute.
Here is the Guardian's match report.
Walter Broeckx at Untold Arsenal talks about how the international friendlies may have contributed to too much fatigue during the second half for Arsenal to overcome.
Young Guns reports that two players, Havard Nordtveit and Oguzhan Ozyakup, are close to signing new deals, although the latter is slightly less assured.
Finally, for those readers who live in the Dallas area, here's a match you may want to try to get to next year featuring Arsenal and Barcelona's youth squads.
Have a good(ish) day, everyone.