Arsenal have come a long way this season and the defensive duo in the centre of the park have been a key part of the Gunners progression. In recent years Arsenal have looked weak at the back, with defensive shambles being apparent and exploited on week after week. However, this year has been different.
The duo of Per Mertsacker and Laurent Koscielny has kept club captain Thomas Vermaelen on the sidelines for the majority of the Premier League season. At times, they’ve been unbeatable- thwarting the strike forces of the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea in the home fixtures and pushing Arsenal into the title race- though the wheels on that wagon eventually fell off.
The fact that the duo were left out of the PFA Team Of The Year was baffling, as both players have been far superior this season to Vincent Kompany and Gary Cahill- the pairing that were selected. Comparing the four using Squawka’s comparison matrix shows that Per Mertesacker has the highest overall performance score, with Laurent Koscielny in second- who has the highest defensive score. Arsenal’s centre-back pairing are superior despite playing more minutes, proving their consistency.
This shows that the duo are simply the best defenders in the league, while the only other defensive pairing in the top 10 in Chelsea’ Gary Cahill and John Terry, who both fall behind the Arsenal men and really should be at the top of the list given the defensive approach that Jose Mourinho has to games. The England duo have been eclipsed by their counterparts from North London this season in pretty much every area.
Manchester City look on course for the Premier League title once again but their problems in defence have cost them from earning themselves a comfortable cushion at this stage. Vincent Kompany has been ever present at the back but has lacked a consistent partner in defence, which puts the Citizens out of the running for the award for best defensive partnership.
Liverpool’s defence looks to have cost them the Premier League title, with the Merseyside team conceding an astonishing 49 goals this season- more than Manchester United, Crystal Palace and Hull City. They threw away their chances of landing their first league title since 1990 with a catastrophic finale at Selhurst Park, which showed that Liverpool can not be contenders for displaying the best defensive partnership.
Even if the Arsenal duo had competition for this crown they would emerge superior, while the fact that no-one can match the duo firmly establishes them as the best partnership in the league. Arsenal can use their solid duo at the back to mount a serious title challenge next year, as long as they sort out the problems up top.
The PFA awards have often laughed upon consistently every year and their selection for the eleven best players in the league this term is bizarre simply because it overlooks the two best central defenders in the league. Without these two at the back, Arsenal are unlikely to be anywhere near the top four and Arsene Wenger would probably be out of a job.
Photo via Ronnie Macdonald