Written by Omomo14 on Thursday, 11 August 2011 08:19

If you have signed up for twitter like I do and have followed lots of Arsenal fans like I have done then you would have read different views on Arsenal. Views that hold water, ITK (in the know) views, views that are just views and views that are thoroughly rubbish. A select few stand out for me on twitter but I'm so sorry that I won't be listing their names.

What brings me to writing an article today is the cry for a new defender whilst I agree that a new CB is a must and we should have concluded a deal for one before the start of pre-season, I don't buy the idea that a new center back in the mould of Samba or Cahill solves our defensive issues.

What we lacked last season and what we might lack this season if the issues aren't addressed is the one and only ORGANISATION. We have solid center backs in Vermaelen, Koscielny, Djourou.  My first choice pairing would be Vermaelen and Koscielny even when a new Center Back arrives.

Another huge problem we have is our defensive high line, one ball over the top and our defenders can't cope. I'm still trying to understand why Wenger persists in playing the high line when season after season we suffer from it. A new CB in the mould of Cahill or Samba would suffer greatly from our defensive set up. Mobility isn't their best attribute and that's what we crave for in a new center back apart from being a dominating figure.

I saw in lots of games last season how our team lost shape while defending. Lost shape in the sense that our forward three failed to close down the opposition, our midfielders didn't track down our opposition's runners there by leaving our defenders vulnerable to defensive mix-ups and that very ugly defendable goal we concede with reckless abandon. This shows lack of organisation in our defensive play which a Vidic or a Terry will suffer from if they played for The Arsenal.

The best defensive performance of last season was the game against Chelsea at the Emirates where we won 3-1. Check out the work-rate of Theo, Nasri and RVP in closing Chelsea defenders down or the stability of our Midfield three, it left our Defenders with little to do but ready to clean-up any slips.

We need a new central defender in my opinion to increase our options at the back because we are going to have a long season ahead and that's about it. Wenger has to preach and teach and drill organisation into all players and maybe we can start having solidity in our defending.

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Comments (13)

• 11-Aug-2011 08:37 | | MeanLean
  

  I totally agree with you that our defensive problems are largely down to organisation. We often over look the fact that our leader at the back was out for most of last season.
  
  In open play we were the best defensive side last season which means we only need to work on the set piece area which would be easier than trying to fix open play problems although balls over the top into channels needs work.
  
  We do need to play a high line though because we take the game to teams and the high line is essential to squeeze a team into their own half. If our defence dropped back while our midfield and attack played in the opposition half then other teams would exploit massive gaps between our midfield and defence and we would certainly get punished far more than we would do with balls over the top.
  
  I am interested to see if and how the team have progressed this season.

• 11-Aug-2011 08:54 | | Alfienoakes
  

  Yes.. defensive crisis.
  
  We have lost Clichy.. Maybe not everyones cup of tea, but still first choice left back. Gibbs is way too injury prone, and in reality is no where near Clichy's level. Traore is not good enough as a defender. So left back to me is an issue.
  
  However that pales to insignificance when you look at the CB's.. Vermaelen is a good defender. but we conceded more goals from set pieces then most other teams last year..? Set pieces.. when people have time to pick up their man, mark the correct players, watch teh ball flight and attack it..Shocking statistics.. We NEED a proper defender. Someone who can attach the ball no matter where it is, get a head to it. Kos is not that player. Him and Squillaci cost the same combined amout as we could have got Cahill for........ Now thats a joke. The fact we have left it this long and still done nothing is shocking..
  
  And then there is Cesc and Nasri.. If anyone truly thinks we are in a better position than we were last year, they are seriously deluded. There is still time to correct this, but there is a huge swell of opinion that if wenger gets it wrong, then we could see the stadium half full, with all of them calling for Wengers head. And that is speaking to guys that have been season ticket holders since the days of George graham and before.

• 11-Aug-2011 09:00 | | MeanLean
  

  In regards to Clichy vs Gibbs, I think the only reason why some are doubting Gibbs is due to his injuries. If he stayed fit then it could be quite possible that he would already be the better player but yes, injuries are a massive concern with him. Having to bank on Traore for a long period could be risky. I would like an experienced back up in that spot.

• 11-Aug-2011 09:35 | | RIJI  - Nice ONE!!!
  

  When it comes to lashing out on The Arsenal, i'm the one with the mic.
  
  But this post proves that you watch and read the game compared to your fellow supporters calling for a STIFF Samba or a SLOPPY Cahill?
  
  GOOD ONE!

• 11-Aug-2011 09:36 | | Alfienoakes
  

  Potentially, Gibbs looks very good,, but last year really should have been a year where we used him much more to get him upto speed.
  
  I dont think the left back spot will be our main problem, but I do think CB, DM and maybe even a striker are concerns.. And that is before Cesc and Nasri go...

• 11-Aug-2011 09:53 | | Zangi  - agree
  

  absolutely. any way of reaching Asene n let him know this?

• 11-Aug-2011 10:11 | | RealSocialDad  - Agree
  

  with most of it but wenger persists with the high line to help press the oppo while in attack obviously it's gona get caught out a few times but with "oraganisation" this should become less frequent

• 11-Aug-2011 11:13 | | chinie  - nice observation
  

  Omomo14 has been able to point out some facts...
  Sometimes I worry wot goes on in Wenger's mind
  Majority of the time tho....
  I can't say much because I missed out many games last season
  This season ...ve got my my eyes on d boys...

• 11-Aug-2011 13:40 | | Podge
  

  Agree that organisation is key. You don't usually hear the phrase that's a team of world class defenders, but you do hear that's a well organised or well drilled defense. If we buy Samba and stick him at the near post then the cross goes back post so 1 signing doesn't make a huge difference. Kos TV and Djou are 3 excellent centre backs Squllaci is ok when partnered with Djou and we need to see him with TV to judge that partnership.
  Of course if Djourou and TV are unavailable then the dreaded Kos-Squllaci is played ideally we sign a new centre back to fill in ahead of Squllaci and compete for a starting spot. TV isn't an automatic choice as the Djourou-Koscielny partnership was excellent for a long stretch last season. 4 centre backs of similar ability and age battling for 2 spots would force improvement on all of them and limit the effect of injuries.
  3 of our players have spoken about the work that has gone into defending this pre-season and how they are confident about it. Hoping they're right and we can seriously cut the 23 goals conceded from set pieces in the league last season. If we are to play zonal marking at set pieces then the players need to be very aggressive when the ball comes into the box.

• 11-Aug-2011 13:46 | | Man United Killa  - same old thing different day
  

  I agree that we are not in any way better of than we were last year.especially defensively.We couldnt even hold on to leads in friendlies.Jaw-dropping!

• 11-Aug-2011 13:49 | | Man United Killa  - Clarify
  

  Would you like do see an experienced 'backup' or do you mean experienced first teamer with Gibbs and/or Traore as backup?

• 12-Aug-2011 00:40 | | Anonymous
  

  Nice write-up by omomo14 we all saw how our defence was always at 6xes and 7vens whenever a highball is played which was mostly evident in the 1-0 loss to the Toons at the Emirates. Co-ordination between the two centre-backs and the keeper should be uppermost on the mind of Wenger irrespective of the Dann-Jagielka-Cahill-Samba transfer talk, resolve that and we could have glory days once again- tony adams & winterburn days.

• 13-Aug-2011 15:51 | | Bazhead14
  

  Fantastic review IMO, I think communication is another factor that needs mentioning, The games against Birhingham(CC final) n Newcastle(4-4) comes to mind, COMMUNICATION + ORGANISATION= SUCCESS

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