Arsenal: Is The Defence To Blame?
In the wake of Arsenals disastrous result against Tottenham at the weekend, the critically fragile defence once more shot Arsenal in the face by producing another outrageous first half performance at White Hart Lane. Arsenal seemed very confident attacking wise through-out the first half, holding a fair share of possession and threatening to score, however two moments of poor defensive displays in the space of two minutes handed Tottenham the 3 points. This is not the first time this has happened - in fact, the current season has been filled with defensive bloopers and poor decision making, which have proven to be difference in matches over the course of this season. Fact of the matter is Arsenal have made the most defensive errors leading to goals this season - than any other team in the BLP, and more importantly Arsenal are currently lying 5 points below 4th placed Chelsea and 7 points behind arch rivals Tottenham, who are 3rd. Regular starter, Thomas Vermaelen, has been far from his best since attaining the captains arm band back in September. Previous season performances saw him gain a lot of praise and recognition as Arsenals leading defender, but sadly this year his inconsistency and poor decision making has made him look more like a time bomb waiting to explode, rather than The Verminator of previous seasons. The pressure of being captain may have led to his down fall this season, whichever way you see it his defensive work needs to be more consistent. Vermaeln's defensive partner, Per Mertesacker, has had a string of good performances at the start of the season, more notably against City and at Anfield, but his lack of pace makes him a continual target for opponents. Arsene Wenger's usual approach to games is to play a high line, which does not suit Per, as his lack of pace makes it all too easy against more mobile attackers. Other defenders such as Laurent Koscielny, havent been at their best either and likewise Bakary Sagna who has also acknowledged and admitted his drop in form this year, although he has still kept Carl Jenkinson out of the starting line-up. Kieran Gibbs on the other hand is showing great potential, despite injuries is preventing him from persisting with his improving left back contribution. New recruit Nacho Monreal is steadily settling in, meanwhile Wojciech Szczesny has emerged as Arsenals most valuable player. Statistics shows that the fifth place Arsenal has scored more goals than third placed Tottenham in the BPL, as well as conceded fewer goals as well, which is intriguing given the league standings. The problem actually lies in games where points have just been handed over needlessly by poor defending. Arsenal have played a total of 7 games against the current top four, Man Utf, Man City, Chelsea and Tottenham, in the Premier League. Winning one, drawing one and losing the remaining five - 15 points dropped. If you look back at the games lost, arguably most of the goals were completely preventable, for example the opening goal at Old Trafford: a miss kick from Thomas Vermaelen gifted Robin van Persie the chance to take the lead (which he did) or that Laurent Koscielny red card back against Man City at 0-0 (City went on to win 2-0). They have been various poor defensive displays weve seen through-out this season, but the bottom line is that the Arsenal defence have got to stop letting the team down by giving away goals so cheaply, considering the fact that Arsenal can still make the champions league next year. For the last 10 games the defensive unit or the whole team defensively needs to improve as there are 30 points still to play for. Leadership, organisation and good decision making is what the Arsenal team lacks at times, although changing the tactical plan; focusing on strengths and forgetting about the opponent could be the answer. Its too late to buy a decent defensive midfielder or another centre back, but Arsene Wenger and defensive coach Steve Bould definitely need to do something about this otherwise it could be Europa League next year. Arsenal fans: whats your take on Arsenal defensive situation? Is it just the Arsenal defence that is responsible for some of the goals Arsenal have conceded this season? Or is it the lack of protection from Arsenal midfeilders? Please comment your opinions and thoughts below.