Arsene Wenger has acknowledged he is worried about Arsenal's recent scoring drought, saying he is racking his brain to come up with a solution.
Arsenal have been held scoreless in five of their last eight games -- including four times at home -- and need to quickly rediscover their ruthlessness in front of goal before Sunday's trip to Manchester United on Sunday.
"It's going through my head at the moment, because I agree with you that our goals have dried up seriously. I am conscious of that," Wenger said. "There are many aspects that I analyse at the moment. And we have to find a quick answer."
The 2-0 loss to Barcelona on Tuesday in the Champions League was only the latest example of Arsenal spurning their chances. That game was preceded by a 0-0 draw against Hull in the FA Cup, and Arsenal's recent games also include scoreless draws against Stoke away and Southampton at home, and a 1-0 loss to Chelsea at the Emirates.
That's a worrying trend for a team hoping to win their first Premier League title in 12 years, as they sit two points behind leader Leicester. And it seems the team's usual scorers are all struggling for form at the same time, with Alexis Sanchez, Olivier Giroud and Theo Walcott having combined for just five goals in 2016. Additionally, Wenger isn't sure whether Danny Welbeck is ready for his first Premier League start after a nine-month injury layoff, despite showing good form in his appearances so far.
Sanchez would be the obvious answer, but he has just one goal in seven games since coming back from a hamstring injury, and Wenger said it would be unfair to put all of the burden on the Chile forward.
"I don't think it's especially down to him. In our recent five, six, seven games, we have struggled to score," Wenger said. "When we attack well, Sanchez will be very dangerous. So we have to focus on attacking well together."
That's exactly what Arsenal did when beating Man United 3-0 at home this season, playing their best football of the campaign to decide the game in the opening 22 minutes. Wenger said they may have caught Louis van Gaal's side by surprise by attacking from the opening whistle, but said his team must employ similar tactics on Sunday.
"We need to play at that pace again," Wenger said. "I just think we need to play at a high pace to be dangerous. That's our game. Our game is based on movement and speed, and if we don't have that I don't see how we can win there."