In Defense of Arsenal’s Defense
There is a popular theme that many roll out when they want to beat Arsenal and Arsené Wenger over the head. That theme is that when it comes down to it Arsenal just can’t defend. In fact that old chestnut was once again rolled out by someone who knows a thing or two about defending – Tony Adams. He had this to say recently:
“He has got a great offensive unit, but I think he is neglecting the defensive side and I think that’s where the problem lies,”
“If they strengthen that area I think they could go and win the league, but I think that’s the error of the team.
“He sticks to his principles and he wants his team to be offensive.
“When Sol Campbell and Ashley Cole left they were the last of the old guard who understood how to defend and prioritise that department.”
He continued, “I think that when they left there was no one else that understood that and the club hasn’t been the same defensively since.
“I think if he put the balance right with regard to their defence/offence he would win the league. It certainly seemed in recent years that whoever won the league had been very good defensively.
“Chelsea had the best defence last year, before that there was Vincent Kompany at Manchester City and before that Manchester United won with Vidic and Ferdinand.
“I think it’s an important part of the game which is sometimes neglected – well, I know it’s neglected.”
Now this is not an attempt to bash Tony’s opinion. Tony has definitely earned the right to be critical. I just wonder if it’s actually a true criticism to make. And to be fair Tony isn’t the only one who makes this point. You can turn to any publication, online media outlet or sports radio and here this criticism launched at Arsenal time and time again.
Again I have to ask the question, is the criticism a valid one?
It is not.
Now you are asking yourselves, how can you be so absolute? Every year there are moments when the defending just lets us down. That is valid. But in fairness there are moments when every team’s defending lets them down.
When you look at the criticism of Arsenal and their defending, the line is that since the days of Adams or, as Adams says, since Sol and Cole left – Arsenal are just a poor defending team.
In fact, historically since the Gunners last won a title, their defense has been in the top 5 of the league overall. Only once since the 2004-2005 season did Arsenal finish lower then fifth, and that was the 2011-2012 season when they finished as the 8th best defense in the league.
stats taken from SportsMole.co.uk
Over the last few years, Arsenal have shown a consistent improvement in defending, finishing 4th in 13-14 with a average goal per game of 1.08 (even with 17 clean sheets) and 41 goals conceded (17 of them in 3 games). The 14-15 season saw additional improvement with Arsenal finishing 3rd in the league defensively with an average goal per game ratio of .95 with 36 goals allowed.
Fast forward to this season, and Arsenal sit ranked as the 2nd best defending squad with a average goal per game ratio of 0.88 and only 23 goals allowed. With 12 games left you can argue that their final goals allowed tally will likely be lower than it has since 07-08 when we only allowed in 31.
Also of interest is to note where Arsenal rank not just in England but in Europe as a whole. When you look at the plot graph below from the excellent Ben Mayhew (@experimental361) Arsenal are falling into the “formidable” category. Though based on where the fall you could also call them “formidable but busy” which wouldn’t be far from the truth.
European Defensive Effectiveness: courtesy: experimental361.com
On average Arsenal allow 12.2 shots per game with 1 goal being conceded on approximately every 14 shots. This produces the 0.88 goals per game average. Arsenal’s 12.2 shots allowed per game ranks them 8th in the league. Additionally, they allow 4.2 shots per game on target, ranking them 11th.
Interestingly of all those shots they allow, 48.1% are from outside the 18-yard box, ranking them 1st in the league in that respect. This trend was visually evident in the first match against Chelsea, where up until the Gabriel’s sending off, Chelsea had no shots within the box. Arsenal’s back line was only broken after the Blues had the numerical advantage.
While these trends and statistics show clearly that Arsenal’s defense isn’t as bad as many contend, there is the concern about those lapses that cost us games, like the 3-3 draw versus Liverpool or the gut wrenching 6-1 and 5-1 losses in the 13-14 season.
But a word of caution about that, when I am working with young goalkeepers they will get in their heads during games about goals they concede – I remind them of the number of guys that are on the field in front of them that they had to get through. It’s pretty simplistic thinking, but if you look at the losses yes there may be individual breakdowns but for the big ones – it’s a systematic lack of effort or string of team-related issues that come back to haunt Arsenal.
Issues like poor passing or ball retention in our own defensive third lead to turnovers and instant pressure on the back 5 (GK included.) Rash challenges or poor tackling creates set pieces that also put pressure on the defense. Even a limp attack can put unnecessary pressure on the defense, thus creating chances for the opposition.
Premier League Defensive Effectiveness: courtesy: experimental361.com
Yes, individual breakdowns occur (they occur throughout the league); it doesn’t necessarily equate to your defending being poor or you coach/manager not prioritizing it.
The Per Mertesacker argument.
A corollary to Arsenal’s poverty defending argument is that Per Mertesacker is slow and thus can’t defend.
Let’s get something cleared on this right away –
Speed while good to have in a defender doesn’t automatically make you a good defender. To read some of the arguments against Per’s inclusion in the side they mostly trend to the one argument that he is too slow.
I’ve never seen anyone lay out a valid argument against his technical ability as a defender.
The fact is, Per isn’t fast. He never has been in his career. What Per has is an innate ability to read the game and put himself in the right position to make the right tackle or delay the attacker until he is joined by supporting defenders.
Now many will argue about “that” tackle against Chelsea, and in truth he shouldn’t have made that tackle, as I still think Kos had enough speed to close down Costa. However, the whole events that led to the tackle weren’t because Per was slow or a poor defender.
We’ve all seen the play transpire – we see Willian with the ball travel across the midfield without any pressure. Flamini continues to drop back and at no point establishes a line of confrontation to force Willian into an early pass or move. Additionally, Per has stepped up to start the high line. However it looks like Kos stays back, either to address the threat Willian poses or he just doesn’t get the cue from Mertesacker to step up and apply the trap. Whatever the reason, the whole sequence was a disaster waiting to happen from the moment Willian crosses the middle of the pitch.
The rest, they say, is history.
When Mertesacker is in the back 4, there is less a feeling of “haphazardness” and being all over the park. He adds stability and composure to the back 4 that neither Kos or Gabriel is able to do right now. Not saying they can’t get there, but they don’t.
It’s clear that the future is Kos and Gabriel and then Gabriel and someone else. But the attacks on Per Mertesacker simply because he is slow and not a crushing CB in the mold of Tony Adams are uninformed and inconsistent with actual truth of Per’s strengths as a defender.
