Defensive frailties: Possible answer to Arsenal’s centre-back problems

There are brewing problems in the Arsenal camp and we all know our defence is one of those problems. Even though the club has made a move to solve the pressing issues, bringing in Kieran Tierney and David Luiz, the problem persists.

Over time, it has become a sad sight to see how much Arsenal struggle to maintain a lead and most of the issue comes from our defence that isn’t solid enough to repel opponent’s attacks.

Arsenal have played 12 matches this season, winning just four matches and conceding 17 goals, averaging 1.42 goals conceded per match as against 1.33 goals scored per match. Out of the 17 goals conceded, we have two errors leading to goal. (Premier League stat)

Guess this is one of the instances where Sir Alex Ferguson’s “Attackers will win you games but defenders will win you titles” quotes proves to be true. Arsenal have one of the best forwards in Europe with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Alexandre Lacazette, Mesut Ozil and Nicolas Pepe all in contention. Not to mention the up and coming stars in Reiss Nelson, Bukayo Saka, and Gabriel Martinelli. So why does the team still struggle to contend for the league title with the quality of players we have in our squad?

It is a hard pill to swallow but one has to admit that our defence is a joke currently.

It is safe to assume that the Arsenal squad is still lacking an element in the back that will make it solid enough for us to win matches, and if the club has the best interest of the fans at heart, the best thing to do is to go all out in January when the transfer window resumes and bring in someone who will complete the defense we are trying to build.

We currently sit in the sixth position in the Premier League table – eight point out of the top-four finish we were fighting for – and we are also out of the Champions League – sad to know we won’t be enjoying the thrill of Europe’s top competition – and we are stuck on thoughts of whether Unai Emery is the right man for the job.

Likely addition to the Arsenal defence

As it stands, the squad just needs the right touch here and there. Putting things in place and setting the players to task might be all we need to make the defence as strong as a wall. We definitely need another new signing that will pair with the ones we already have and see them grow stronger together.

News outlets have been talking about Arsenal chasing Turkish international, Merih Demiral of Juventus. Although the 21-year-old Turkish defender hasn’t had much playing time in Italy, it doesn’t change the fact that he is a talented player and will make a great addition in the Arsenal defence.

Should we really chase him and are able to bring him in come January, then we can see a backline of Sokratis Papastathopoulos, David Luiz and either one of Calum Chambers or Rob Holding which looks like a pretty solid defence.

Conclusion

All we need is the right pairing and we will be seeing magic in our defence, but before we can see that happen, we will need to bring in a young energetic defender that can rub off on the ones we have – and we hope to see that when the transfer window resumes in January.