Arsenal have never looked as devoid of ideas as they have in the past two games. Countless amounts of passes were made in both games, but barely a single clear-cut chance was created.
That statistic will be the most alarming one for Arsene Wenger as he looks to instill the confidence needed to garner all three points in the English Premier League Saturday at the Emirates, against an equally low-on-confidence side in Queens Park Rangers.
London Derbies in the Premier League come thick and fast, and Arsenal will need to show the resolve and desire they showed against West Ham United a few weeks back.
Against Schalke and Norwich, Arsenal not only looked incapable of scoring goals, but looked like a tired and jaded team, just going through their motions.
At 0-0 for instance against Schalke, it looked like Steve Bould was just happy to see the game drift to a goalless draw, inexplicably not making a positive change to try and grab the advantage, which the German side eventually did.
Wenger has the excuse of not being on the bench for the Champions League game, owing to his three-match touchline ban. But even when the manager had control of the substitutions against Norwich -- one might argue the impact ones were made too late, even if Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain might have picked up an unfortunate injury.
Santi Cazorla might have only played a handful of games for Arsenal, but the Gunners already seem to overly rely on the little Spaniard's creativity to change the course of the game. Lukas Podolski, who has been as impressive as Cazorla, has looked a little tired, no doubt owing to the fact that he has started every single Premier League and Champions League game this season.
There is a sense among the opponents, that if you can stop Cazorla from getting the ball, you can stop Arsenal playing and creating chances. Therefore the comeback of Jack Wilshere will be welcomed by Wenger, with the England playmaker equally capable of carving out that little piece of magic.
However, one should be careful to not put too much pressure on the 20-year-old and let him find his feet at the highest level, having missed out due to injury for well over a year - Wilshere though might be given a start against QPR, with the playmaker definitely in line for at least a substitute's appearance.
Wenger might decide to start with Olivier Giroud up front after Gervinho looked a little lost in the center forward position against Schalke. The Ivorian is much more productive on the wings, making those darting runs and taking on the fullbacks, even if his decision making and final ball might leave a lot to be desired.
Oxlade-Chamberlain is expected to return from the injury he picked up against Norwich while Theo Walcott is still struggling to recover. Wenger will have to give serious consideration to the left-back position after Andre Santos struggled immensely against Schalke, and with Kieran Gibbs still out, a move to send Thomas Vermaelen to left-back with Laurent Koscielny slotting in at center-back might not be a bad idea.
QPR manager Mark Hughes will also be equally desperate to pick up a positive result, having seen his side stay rock bottom of the league for much of the season. The London club, who survived relegation by the skin of their teeth last year, have only picked up three points from eight games, and were a little unlucky not to register their first win against Everton last weekend.
Expected lineups: Arsenal: Mannone, Vermaelen, Koscielny, Mertesacker, Jenkinson, Arteta, Ramsey, Cazorla, Gervinho, Podolski, Giroud.
QPR: Cesar, Bosingwa, Diakite, Nelsen, Traore, Mbia, Granero, Park, Taarabt, Hoilett, Zamora.
Prediction: Arsenal 3-0
