Friday, March 29, 2024

Wenger: Defensive stability the key

Arsene Wenger has pinpointed defensive stability as a key reason for Arsenal’s upturn in form.

Blips against Southampton and Stoke City aside, the Gunners have been on an impressive run of form across three fronts securing 12 wins and a draw from their last 15 games and keeping seven clean sheets in the process.

It’s a run that tallies almost entirely with the return of the Mertescielny axis of awesome, so missed in the first part of the season when Laurent was sidelined by ankle problems, and one that has thrived despite a change of goalkeeper and regular rotation in the full-back positions.

“We have maybe found a better consistency,” Wenger reflected after the Gunners 5-0 win over Aston Villa.

“That will be very important until the end [of the season]. Let’s show that we can win more and it shows you as well that when the confidence level is higher and when everybody’s back defensively, it makes a difference. Defensive stability is vital – when you don’t have that, you suffer.”

While Arsenal’s run has been good of late, the club still sit outside the top four on goal difference behind Southampton, and have it all to do if they’re to further close the 11 point gap on leaders Chelsea.

“It’s too early to say [that Arsenal can still have a say in the title race],” continued Wenger.

“We are 11 points behind – that means they need to lose four games and we need to win four. I believe that we should try to be consistent and see what happens.

“I told you, you asked me my predictions [for the Chelsea v Manchester City game]. I said a draw and I was not wrong because Chelsea had one shot on target and Manchester City three or four. It was a draw.”

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newxieland

Well stable CBs aside I reckon the bloke that plays infront of the defence is pretty important too!

gunnermite

talking about défensive stability, here is à quick reminder that Ospina has never concede à goal in bpl history. how good is that as à stat.

gooner 44

finally Le PROF the pennys dropped

AK 57

Hopefully, the penny has dropped for Sczesny as well.

GoonerN16

Give it a rest….. dont tell me, he has been listening to the ‘fans’…

GoonerN16

I was talking to, gooner 44..

ArseHobbit

“in BPL history” or “in his three premier league appearances so far”.

Whichever you feel is a more balanced description of the fact I guess.

remember the invincibles

i think he means they need to lose 4 and we need to win all.
I hope we win more than 4, really…but fuck all that I just want to smash the spuds next week.

DennisWantsAWord

Screw the spuds. It’s high time we tonked Manure

Cygan's Magical Left Foot

I think they need to lose ONLY 3 and we win all our games, Mr Wenger Maths there let him down *have that smug look on my face now*.

To be even more smug, they need to lose one and draw three and we win all our games. oh god, I feel now just like a mathematical genius.

Smudger

I think your smugness is misplaced on this one cygan. In both of your scenarios we would finish 2 points behind the specialist in failures travelling band of thunderc$&ts.

Gooneron

Our Coq’s hardness has been the key

Stillmatic

In fairness Mr. Wenger, even we could’ve predicted Chelsea would play for a draw.

But yeah, our improved defence is due to many factors beyond our CBs. Coq’s hole-filling, as validated by the by the numbers stats, Monreal actually getting a run of games to get into form, and also having Bellerin play instead of Chambers has offered great balance (I’m fond of Chambers, but as a fullback, he was constantly targeted due to his lack of pace).

Dick Swiveller

I’m not sure it was the lack of pace, he’s not as quick as Bellerin but he’s not slow either, his positioning just looks a little dodgier out wide than in the middle and when that’s combined with the awful teamplay we were showing and that mental weakness, it’s not good. Pretty sure we won’t see him much at RB in the future though, the way Bellerin is playing

bruceGreene

Next season with jenkinson we will have 3 RBs + chambers. Ideally jenko and chambers can cover for both Center and right back, with chambers more inclined to center and jenkinson to right.

Dick Swiveller

We won’t have Jenkinson next season, West Ham will. If Bellerin hadn’t come through and blossomed, then he might have come back here to fight for a place but with a young utility guy who can play there, and a better RB specialist who’s a similar age, on top of Debuchy, I can’t see him here next season. I actually think Jenkinson could be a decent CB, he’s pretty big, athletic and willing to work harder than just about anyone. Problem is, I reckon Chambers would be a better CB and we only need one of them so if it’s… Read more »

bruceGreene

I partially agree. He can be a good cb, however depth is key in defence with our aging 1st choice defenders. Jenkinson can continue his trade in north London I reckon.

David C

Jenkinson is a little weak in the air, especially battling for headers. His crossing is unreal, so I feel RB is much better suited for the Corporal.

DFS

You make a good point. If Chambers was playing in the present team when we have hit on all cylinders, he would be looking better and more comfortable…

GoonerN16

And lack of experience… whereas, Bellerin has just settled in…

2014-2015 = the year we've been waiting for

For the love of God, may Chelsea continue to draw or lose their games so that we can all be spared Mourinho’s disgusting post-match interviews for a while longer.

Dick Swiveller

You mean, this is all some elaborate way to distract from Chelsea’s lack of form, rather than an inspirational symbol of defiance at a corrupt authority? That doesn’t seem like Mourinho at all.

Springbank 1962

Wouldn’t it be brilliant to watch Mourinho completely unravel as the season goes on. For the genuflecting media to (once-and-for-all) see the finger-poking scumbag for the ego-maniac he actually is.

Calling Chelsea ‘disgraceful’ in advance was a blunder waiting to happen. Yet highly typical of a man who doesn’t really understand football.

Arsenal winning the Premier League isn’t only about silverware, it could also be about ridding ourselves of one of the biggest fallacies in football.

David C

The worst part of that terrible draw against man City was both managers making only defensive subs for the last 20-25 mins. I mean with all the money that either team spent you think one of these managers would have the guts to go for the win. here is where I love Wenger’s philosophy even if it costs us the odd game. This is the entertainment business and there wasn’t much of that from Citeh or Chelski.

GoonerN16

Yes, yes and yes. I’d love to see his face and maybe just maybe he’d shut the fu*k up. Magic..

GoonerN16

Moanreen, that is…

AnonymousGun

Arsenal.. CoqBlocking everyone since 2015. Long may it continue.

Kenyan Gooner

well played!

AK 57

We have right balance at the back as well. Very suprised with Bellerin’s rise. Now, I know why Wenger send Jenko on loan. Kos and Mer are always excellent when they play together and Monreal hasnt put a foot wrong since coming back from CH’s position. He has improved immensely. Coq has given them extra protection whilst Ospina is calm and collected. All in all defence has a major upgrade since we lost to stoke.
In addition, we have extra personnel for each of the defensive positions.

rossi88

I love this feeling on a Monday. Walking round site talking to fellow gooners bout how great life is, and for once all Chelsea fans are nice and quiet. Thanks Arsenal, same again this weekend please!

Styles

As has been pointed out, when the midfield shows defensive responsibility we are better as a unit. When everyone ahead of per and kos is trying to score, loss of possession makes us vulnerable to counter attack.

Incidentally how good was the Walcott goal yesterday? It reminded me of the Invincibles when quite often we were most dangerous when the opposition had a corner.

neutral

Yeah, I don’t think he gets credit for starting the move that led to the second either, his stealing the ball and drawing defenders is what set Giroud free and enabled the pass to Ozil.

I listened to last Fridays Arsecast and Tim Stilman was going on about Walcott being poor defensively, I just don’t buy it and I think it is expectation bias. Theo can have some quiet games, but I wonder how often he is instructed to stay up top.

GoonerN16

@ styles; ‘we were most dangerous when the oppo had a corner’ nice observation, and long may it continue..

Costa Gooner

Great result,more of the same on Saturday please. Oh John Terry is still a cunt!

Me So Hornsey

Ramsey is the key for me. Not really at his box to box, goal scoring best but he finally seems to have worked out the DM needs help first and foremost.. Attacking should be secondary.
His non-stop running and hardworking cannot be underestimated in the last few matches.

Man Manny

The injury situation too is a big boost.

Kenyan Gooner

I love the way we’re playing at the moment. Keeping the ball at the back and pulling the opposition to our half. Then with a lovely pass from Kos we start our attack using our pace. I just love how Kos dribbles. Now let’s finish off Sp*rs.

Arsemaster

Wenger is a big believer in defensive stability which is why he resisted buying a specialist backup CB. But Kos’ problems forced his hand and now we have Gabriel who won’t get a game unless Mert or Kos get injured.

For better or worse, Wenger rotates by injury.

neutral

Martin Keown, Arsenal legend and sometimes media douchebag has a piece on the bbc website attributing the new defensive solidity to Coq and Ramsey, particularly Coq’s positioning and Ramsey’s improved discipline in not going for goals all the time. http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/31079429 For me it seems like we’ve gone back to what worked so well the first half of last season when we made that title push. With a forward 4 of Ozil/Cazorla, Sanchez, Giroud, and Walcott we should be able to sit back more and let those guys do their thing. And what a forward line -Giroud for holding the ball,… Read more »

Trez

Keown only criticize the team when there’s a reason to.

CB

Douchebag??? You’d have to provide examples of that, everything I’ve heard, including your example, show what a great, bright and humble bloke he is.

neutral

Yeah, I think I mixed him up with Adams, who shoots his mouth off from time to time, my mistake. I liked the piece on the bbc, although it overlooks the obvious return of Kos.

Big-Ike

We’ve only got one COQ!!! (3X)

Samrat

So Wenger knew it’d be draw, that means Wenger can see the future…..If he was a betting man..

neutral

If Wenger can see the future then 2006-2013 must have been hell for him, knowing every season was futile and his best players would betray him and leave.

Samrat

The worst thing about Spurs is the bird in their crest, always hated clubs with birds in their crests. The second worst thing is their creepy lily white jersey…..It’s time to grill some chicken…. I’m sure our Coq will do their Cockerel real gooood

santori

This is where all this talk about Coquelin being the big difference is incorrect. The BIG difference is we have 1) A stable pairing at Cback for the first time this season. We were deprived of a Cback option and paid for it. The inexperienced of Chambers and Monreal Out of position was always going to be an issue. Its no fault of either player albeit if it were Flamini, we would hear no end to drivel about his lack of quality. Both players cost us. Instead the blame shifted conveniently to Per. The usual red herring about his speed… Read more »

1GoonerDan

I couldn’t agree more – spot on analysis.

Stone

Chelsea have 53 points from 23 games, or 53/23 = 2.304 points per game. If they keep the same record they will earn 34.56 points from the remaining 15 games. If we win the last 15 games we will get 45 points and finish 0.56 points behind them 😉 Basically what I’m saying is that in order to have a realistic chance of the title, we would have to win every single game we got left.

Anonymous Physicist

Well, Chelsea could drop a few more points in the remainder of the season than they’ve done so far, but even so, we’re not going to win 15 straight PL games now, are we? If we go on a really, really good run, we could possibly make it to 80 points. That would mean losing one, drawing two and winning the other 12 games we have left. 80 would be our highest point total since 2008 (we got 79 last year), and should be plenty to take 3rd, but I would expect Chelsea to end up at 85-90 points, and… Read more »

palace gunner

Well said i must admit ospina has been gd in goal abit of practice on kicking ball out of goal area and passing to players from the area box but he is good.

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