Per Mertesacker and Laurent Koscielny have hailed Arsenal’s defensive resilience after the famous 2-0 win over Bayern Munich.
The Gunners central defensive duo were outstanding overall, and their quality and experience played a major role in the result.
Speaking after the game, both of them were delighted with the defensive performance of the whole team as Arsenal kept their Champions League hopes alive.
“You can see the team were very focused in their defensive job,” Koscielny told Arsenal Player, “and it is very important to keep this for the rest of the season because for the first two games of the Champions League we did not play very well.
“But here we saw a very good face of Arsenal and we need to keep this for the other games because I like I said before sometimes it is more difficult but you need to be stronger when you defend.”
Meanwhile, Mertesacker highlighted the importance of solidity at the back becuase of the quality the team has up front.
“Our defensive unity from the start and for 90 minutes … I think that stands out today because we knew that they would have good possession, a lot of possession, but we had to keep our focus on our defensive unit and stay as strong as possible and keep them from scoring for as long as possible.
“That was the key tonight. We know that we can always score out of nothing and today Olivier came on and made a goal after a set-piece. In every minute we can be dangerous.
“We had good chances but our team play was outstanding today and that was the most important thing.
“We stayed more compact in our own half and it worked out completely. We got them on the break we had good counter-attacks, great chances and kept a clean sheet over 90 minutes, which is a good sign against this Munich side.”
I think it’s safe to start referring to “the Arsenal back five” again now we have Cech behind a very decent bunch of defenders. About time!
Back 6 even given the Coq that protects the 5.
Back eleven I might add… as all of Arsenal players were defending like hell. long may it continue.
What a great day I’m having. The university I teach at is having this boring one-off day of informational meetings for students that involves basically eight hours of nothing but sitting around in my office, it would be a nightmare if I also had to avoid the Internet because I was heartbroken over a loss. Instead I’m just reading about a great win and watching replays. I’m so glad my dad was an Arsenal supporter. He came from a family of supporters of some other North London team, and he picked Arsenal because he hated his family. He and I… Read more »
Damn, I gave you a thumbs down by mistake! Meant a big thumbs up. Sorry about that
or apparently not, stupid phone
Smartphone?
DumbPhone apparently
No doubt my (soon to be ex) husband will make some daft, uninformed comment about the state of our defence yesterday. So glad I left him. Is Per single?
Come on you Gunners!
I am single.
Hey big boy 😉
Here’s a selfie https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/hphotos-xaf1/t51.2885-15/s320x320/e35/11821852_935639579826153_1167373073_n.jpg
I’m single and I’m ALMOST as tall as Per
Big Single Giant!
Our defense rolls DEEP. As in deep pockets. Muller, Lewa, Vidal, n Tiago all anonymous for most of the game, credit ALL to our boys. Lewa and Tiago had a couple chances, but not clear cut imo. The defense was seriously immense. That guy Costa caught the eye though, he looks quality. As happy as I am about the win, the game in Munich will not be the same. The pressure we were under to get the win, which spurred us on throughout, will now also fuel Bayern’s flame. Even more excited for that game now, as I was for… Read more »
bayern Munich cannot play better than what they played yesterday except if they have Robben to do the diving for them. they can’t flame better than they already have…. bring them on again for the second leg and they and they will get served with the same 2-0 thrashing or more..
They came.
We welcomed them.
They probed.
We sat deep.
They shot.
We defended well.
They kept possession.
We let them.
They left empty-handed.
We got 3 points!
1. A solid defence
2. A fluid midfield
3. An attack that is firing.
4. A hungry manager
= recipe for a sustained title challenge.
where have all the people gone that were yelling for Gab to replace Mert when they saw yesterday’s lineup?
Trust our BFG.
”We stayed more compact in our own half”
So did we park the bus or play counter attack football? Either way we won but lets not complain next time someone parks the bus against us.
No, being well organized is not necessarily parking the bus.
BUT HOW CAN WE BE SO GOOD WITHOUT SPENDING ALLL THEEE MONNEEEYYY #VENGAOUUTT
Ps. Being way sarcastic
Gabriel is a fast improving player and will be the future of the central defense (maybe with Chambers) Meanwhile nothing like experience at the back. who needs speed when you are already there? Metersecker is still one of the most underrated assets in the squad. Sure he is slow but his positioning is immaculate and his leadership role which he has taken up seemingly in concert with Cech is crucial. It helped of course that the gaffer also played to tactics he had horn in nullyfying Pep’s tikki tikka style. Sitting deep afforded less exposure to pace on their end… Read more »
This back 5 is the most solid we’ve had since the invincibles.
Cech’s signing was a masterstroke by Wenger. He was exactly what our defence needed.
Trez, you OK?
What i like about Cech is his calmness, bit like Ospina actually. Szcz and the keepers before him used to drive me mad bcos after being under pressure and finally getting the ball in their gloves they wud just chuck it straight back into play rather than wait 10 seconds to let the team regroup….maddening!