One of the biggest criticisms that Arsenal have received for their pathetic display in the Premier League as well as Champions League last season has been their unorganised defence in the second half of the season. The North London side, to everyone’s surprise, were battered and thrown out of the race in both the big fronts after a decent first half of the season.
Arsenal ended the season conceding 44 goals sitting at the fifth position of the league table. While the number of goals were more or less equally distributed in both the halves (20 in the first, and 24 in the second), it was their nature of defending that brought the rude remarks from fans and critics.
Arsenal had a real chance to challenge for the title even as late as March, when they were freshly ousted from the Champions League, and had some easy games on the trot. Winning them could have brought them to a tight finish with Chelsea and Tottenham Hotspur, but the Gunners’ defence decided to sleep instead.
Fans’ outrage knew no bounds as Arsenal slumped to back to back defeats against Watford at home and Chelsea away. And the more frustrating fact was the manner in which they did. Even with the likes of Laurent Koscielny and Shkodran Mustafi guarding the back, Arsenal’s defence was seen infiltrated by the weakest of sides owing to delicate clearances or poor man marking from set-pieces, showing clear signs of under confidence on the players’ part.
Pundits, which include some of Arsenal’s past greats, went on a rampage about Arsene Wenger’s need to bring in commanding centre-halves like that of Sol Campbell and Edu, who were brilliant leaders of the game and unshakeable in their attitude. While Frenchman Koscielny did show some promises of that last season, inconsistency crept in this time.
Arsene Wenger’s uncertainty on his future worsened the squad’s mentality and the side was on the verge of giving up when the manager gave the trending three-man defence a try. The tactical shift changed everything, and barring a frustrating loss against archrivals Tottenham Hotspur, the Gunners looked impeccable at the back again.
They went past the likes of Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea following that and in the process emerged a certain Rob Holding, who is now suddenly the future of Arsenal. To their fortune, Brazilian centre-half Gabriel Paulista, who has been maddeningly inconsistent so far, turned into a beast; and starring in Arsenal’s final game of the season against Everton that the Gunners won 3-1 with 10 men.
The FA Cup win further secured Wenger’s job even after a horrible season, with the fans already thinking their side an invincible, once again. But, don’t let this fool you. Arsenal have been experiencing this form for the past many seasons where the side runs out of consistency in the middle of the season and comes back to gather momentum just in time to keep their heads in.
It has been a decade or more since Arsenal last had a leader at the back, who could guide the team from the deep field. And only a quality centre-half can do that. The likes of Nacho Monreal and Koscielny is already on the other side of 30 and will only deteriorate with every passing quarter, with signs already showing.
While the likes of Holding and Calum Chambers are in their early twenties and unreliable to trust in all top games. Paulista, on the other hand, is regarded by many as a departure this summer following his failure to impress Wenger since joining from Villarreal.
German centre-half, Mustafi, seems the only perfect player in the role and Arsenal will absolutely have to get in someone proven like Leonardo Bonucci, Virgil van Dijk, Mamadou Sakho and more to get the needed closed-eye assurance Wenger once had in the side.
