There hasn’t been much for this Arsenal side to cheer about so far this season, with an unimpressive tally of 17 points from 11 games in the Premier League which doesn’t make for easy reading.
Arsene Wenger was quick to build on last year’s FA Cup success, bringing in a heap of talent across the field allowing some players much-needed competition. The latter couldn’t be said for our defence though, after losing star player Bacary Sagna to table-toppers Manchester City, Wenger failed to shore up a defence that was already lacking in both quality and quantity.
Let’s be honest, going through the season with a fully fit squad at Arsenal is the impossible dream, with the Gunners racking up the highest injury list out of all 20 teams in the league. Long-term absentee Matthieu Debuchy is still set on returning to us around February, whilst Laurent Koscielny has suffered a series of setbacks and hasn’t featured for the Gunners in over a month.
But it’s not all doom and gloom, Arsenal fans have a busy November to look forward to, with a number of games on the cards for all three points. Next up is Manchester United, and a win against a Louis Van Gaal’s men would really kick-start the season for these players.
I take a look at what options there are to solve the defensive crisis at Arsenal:
Strategy
We need to go back to the drawing board a lot more and focus on not just playing to our strengths, but our oppositions strengths just as much. The game against Swansea made it evidently clear that something has to change, their desire to play down the wings with pace was what defeated us most, and there was one simple way the game would’ve ended so differently.
The pace of youngster, Hector Bellerin, would have accommodated to the stamina of Swansea winger, Montero. Bellerin would have slotted nicely into the back four, with Callum Chambers moving in to take on the centre back role with Mertesacker. Chambers had the worst game I have seen him play since joining us, and maybe that’s because he takes a commanding role in the middle, the Englishman would’ve provided extra cover at the back and ability to jump, something that Monreal can’t do and Mertesacker is struggling with.
It’s beyond clear now that Arsenal have a real problem with defending set-pieces, and since the appointment of Steve Bould, nothing has really changed. We are a team that uses zonal marking on corners, which completely does not work for us and it’s time to stop ‘testing’ it. I have never been a fan of zonal, it’s sloppy and people don’t understand their job properly, take Mertesacker for example, against Chelsea he was invisible simply because he let Diego Costa overrule him in every way. Player to player battles help to read the oppositions game and eventually frustrate them when they aren’t winning the right aerial encounters.
The worst bit about this is players are never taking responsibility for their actions. With man-marking, it is clear to see who is not pulling their weight at the back, you can then take that player out of the picture and work one-to-one with him to improve his game personally. The use of man-marking will help goalkeeper, Wojech Szczesny to take account of when to come out and collect, because he knows which players are a threat and which players will struggle getting to the ball in the air.
Back-Up
Arsenal aren’t exactly struggling for up and coming talent when it comes to our defence. A number of our youngsters are performing incredibly well with both the Under-18 and Under-21 sides. There are a number of replacements for the worrying form of Nacho Monreal, who has been forced to play in the centre back role ever since Koscielny was injured. These are players that know where they stand, how to play in that role and all of them have the correct attitude, something our first team players are not grasping.
So let’s have a look… We have Under-21 captain, Isaac Hayden, who has managed to settle in with the reserves side at just 18 years old. He understands what it means to lead from the back, and is not afraid to tell anyone who isn’t doing their job properly. He can add height and pace into the back four, with his quality being to go up for attacking corners and then be able to track back incredibly quickly. Hayden is also one of a few players in the academy who has experienced senior football, after being named on the bench in a number of different fixtures this year and performing well when brought in to the 2-1 loss to Southampton in the Capital One Cup.
Shifting around and testing out positions is something we don’t have time to do, but for players that we know can play with a versatility in their game, it is a perfect time to throw them in at the deep end. Francis Coquelin may have recently headed out on a one month loan, but the French star can boast an impressive appearance tally in the first team at Freiburg. He is no stranger to the first team, after playing a few games at centre defensive midfield. When back at the club, Coquelin can slot into the left-back or right-back position, which again allows Chambers to move into the middle to play alongside Per.
Last but not least you’ve got the most ready-made of them all, Matthieu Flamini. The midfielder is never afraid of putting his heart on the line when it comes to Arsenal, and is the guy in the middle of the field who you’ll see slide tackling every five minutes. Flamini knows how to defend, and is a player who does what he is told by Wenger after the boss re-signed him in 2013. Although he is a liability when it comes to getting in the book, he can offer experience and much-needed passion to spark up this back four.
Transfers
Now we go to the most obvious and frustrating thing Arsenal fans will be shouting out for. Wenger failed to bring in any additional cover at centre back, and is now paying the price for not building on the form of Koscielny and Mertesacker last year. We haven’t been left disappointed this transfer window when it comes to big name signings, but they aren’t coming in at defence are they.
It doesn’t matter how much it is, we need to fork out on a player just like we did with Alexis, somebody that shows the rest of the League we’re making a statement.
Think about it, when was the last time a world-class defender was bought by Wenger who was already that good when he arrived? Exactly.
The transfer market is one of the most difficult things to work with these days, especially with social media and online journalism featuring so many rumours of players available. It seems like we’ve been linked to every player in the book, whether it be Matts Hummells or Sami Khedira, we are never left with something to believe in when trying to bring somebody in.
Fresh Arsenal took an in-depth look at who could be brought in to replace the likes of Nacho Monreal, in order to shore up a defence that have already conceded in every game in the Premier League bar two.
Check out who we identified Wenger should be giving a call!