Kieran Gibbs has urged his Arsenal team-mates to stand up and support Arsène Wenger by putting in the performances the manager deserves as payback for all that he has achieved for the club during his 15-year reign.
Defeats to Liverpool, Manchester United and Blackburn Rovers have left the Gunners fourth from bottom with a goal difference of minus eight before Bolton Wanderers' visit to the Emirates on Saturday.
On Tuesday evening another shaky performance in north London against Shrewsbury Town in the Carling Cup third round ended in Arsenal winning 3-1, after they had initially fallen behind.
Gibbs, whose 33rd-minute equaliser was his first goal for the club, was asked if the players now have to show they are playing for Wenger. He said: "If we haven't shown that already then I'm sure we will. We all have to get behind him. I don't think we need to show what type of man Arsène Wenger is. If we need to do that then there is no point in being here because what the man has done is incredible."
Arsenal's terrible defending has included conceding eight at Old Trafford and four against Rovers with the defence appearing particularly vulnerable under high balls. James Collins's strike for Town came after Johan Djourou allowed the forward a free header, with Wenger's rearguard struggling throughout the tie.
Gibbs admits that many of the goals Arsenal have allowed opposing teams this season have been due to their mistakes. "There are some errors. I think we bring a lot of the trouble on to ourselves sometimes. But it happens in football," the left-back said. "We are an extremely attacking team, we produce a lot of flair in our game and I think we know that we cannot be perfect and cannot be amazing going forward and going back. As a defender you always want to keep a clean sheet.
"When your team concedes goals then every defender will tell you it's not what they want. We have progressed in our last couple of games, it's just that individual things sometimes we do lack – concentration is just one thing. You see other teams do it but then they don't concede from it and it gets overlooked. But the minute we make one thing [mistake] and it's a goal. It's unbelievable how much it is affecting us, but we will overcome it."
Gibbs denied that Arsenal's defensive unit lacks confidence. "As a unit, no. We know we have the ability and the squad. If you look at the squad and the players, it has gotten a lot stronger since the start of the season and I'm sure we will pick it up," he said.
The 21-year added that the team should adopt a siege mentality to deal with their current troubles. "Yes. We just have to stand and not hide away now if the results [do not] go our way – we need to do the opposite and make sure we stand up and be counted. We will see a change," he said.
But Gibbs did admit that the mood at the club is not the best. "To be honest, it's not been the easiest of months, not just weeks," he said. "I can assure everyone that the team is together and you can see from the stats of the games that what we are doing is right, but on some occasions we aren't getting the results. We are looking to turn that around as soon as possible so we can lift the club."
Arsenal went 2-1 up against Shrewsbury courtesy of a 25-yard shot from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, before Yossi Benayoun settled Arsenal's nerves with a 78th-minute goal. Oxlade-Chamberlain's first goal for the club came in his second game following a £12m move from Southampton in the summer, and Gibbs said of him: "To come in, especially at this time, which isn't easy for someone young – he has expressed himself and shown what he can do. He is a good addition to the squad and he has ability. He is good and I'm looking forward to playing with him."
